


The rise and fall of our heroes (in no particular order)

by asermann



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, Friendship, Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War, Reversing the Snap, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Conflict, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-07
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-07-25 04:59:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16190588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/asermann/pseuds/asermann
Summary: Steve let out a haggard breath, as if steeling himself for what he was about to say. “Remember Project Insight?”“Your plan is to save the world by killing 700 000 people?” Steve sensed the keen interest behind Tony Stark’s sarcasm.“Zola’s algorithm targeted people who could potentially pose a threat to HYDRA, including us. I think it’s safe to assume that all the people on the list are intelligent, independent thinkers who aren’t afraid to fight for what they believe.”“First of all, I’m flattered. Second, it seems like your trying to tell me we should use Zola’s algorithm, or a version of it, to find new teammates for the war on Thanos.”“Pretty much.”Tony started to pace the room, rubbing his beard and mumbling to himself. “You know what, Rogers? Your plan is crazy. Actually, scratch that. Your plan is fucking batshit.”“Do you have a better idea?”





	1. Chapter 1

Suddenly the fighting stopped. The frantic movements, the shouting, the air of desperate determination all stopped. In a second it was over.

They were there and then they weren’t.

“What just happened?” A confused voice broke the forced silence.

“I don’t know.” Another voice, just as confused.

The group of ragged fighters who had stopped moving, who had stopped perceiving the world around them, stood frozen among the stoic trees. Their focus was directed at the forest floor, where, between the roots and the shrubbery, piles of dust had collected. A cold breeze, oblivious to the humans’ collective state of motionlessness, swept over the ground. The dust piles spread out, rolling with the wind, not unlike waves rolling perpetually over the ocean.

“He did it.” It was almost a whisper. Stifled sobs broke out, and then wails of grief. It didn’t take long before a few people collapsed on the ground, feeling the places where their companions had stood moments before.

“Steve?” A woman made her way through the trees, searching.

“Yeah.”

“Thank God you’re still here,” the woman said, crouching down next to Steve.

“He’s gone,” Steve announced to no one in particular. “Bucky. He was right here and then he just—”

“I know, Steve.”

“Where did they go?”

Natasha placed a firm hand on Steve’s shoulder. “Come on, we have to get out of here. We need to find out who’s still here and get everyone back to the palace.”

“What are we gonna do?”

“Nothing, we just have to make sure everyone’s safe.”

“What’s our plan? What do we do next? How do we—”

“There is no plan, Steve. We lost. It’s over.”

 

★★★

 

“The question is: how do we undo it?” Steve asked the rest of the people in the room.

“Undo it?” Bruce sounded cautious, perhaps hesitant to indulge Steve.

“If the Time Stone can reverse time, there must be some way we can go back and fix this.”

“It’s not that simple,” Thor chimed in.

“But theoretically, if we had the gauntlet, we could bring them back?”

“Theoretically, yes. But—”

“Great. Now has anyone gotten any more messages from Tony? I’d like to know when he’s going to be here. I’d also like to know if anyone’s heard from Barton or Scott Lang. I’ve been trying to reach them but I haven’t heard anything yet.”

“Steve, what are you trying to do? Reassemble the Avengers?” Bruce asked in a tone suggesting he was concerned for Steve and his level of sanity.

“I’m trying to put together the people who are best equipped to take on Thanos.”

“Take on Thanos? But we just did that, remember? Outside, with the fighting?” the raccoon said. Steve didn’t answer. He stood steadily with his hands on his hips. Through his posture he attempted to convey trust and determination, but his eyes gave him away. The sources of his determination were grief and anger. Typical markers of instability. Perhaps the rest of the group were right to question his sanity. They shared his pain, after all.

Mixed with Steve’s seemingly perpetual expression of suppressed despair was a look of impatience, a furrowed brow that suggested the rest of the group was failing to understand something that to Steve was painfully clear.

“Remember how we lost and a bunch of our friends died?” Rocket continued softly.

“Do you? Do any of you remember what happened out there? Because I sure do. And yet I don’t see anyone else trying to fight this.”

“Steve,” Natasha began, “we want to fix this as much as you do. But we can’t. We couldn’t fight him before he had all the Stones, and now that he does, he’s the most powerful being in the universe. I don’t see how we’re supposed to go after him, especially with our numbers decimated.”

“We didn’t have all the facts before. We didn’t know what we were up against. Now that we do, we just need a plan.”

“And what do you suggest? Find Thanos, kill him and use the gauntlet to bring everyone back?”

“Something like that.”

 

★★★

 

“That’s it? That’s your grand plan? Man, Rogers, I’ve learned not to expect much of you, but that’s a pretty shitty plan, even by your standards.”

“Could you try to take this a little more seriously?”

“What, you never heard of using humor as a coping mechanism?” Tony, who had been pacing around the lab, absentmindedly picking up pieces of Wakandan technology and inspecting them, turned to face Steve. “I am serious. Considering everything that’s at stake, how could I not be serious? But then you show up and tell me you wanna fight Thanos with half an army and a star-spangled shield, and you expect me not to laugh.”

“Look, Tony, I don’t have a perfect plan. I just want to bring everyone back, no matter what it takes. I can’t force anyone to help me. I’m not even asking for your help, I’m just asking you to hear me out.”

Tony was leaning against a table filled with advanced technology, his elbow perched on a stack of blueprints for complex designs Steve had trouble discerning what for. Tony rested his chin in his hand, fingers almost covering his mouth. “I’m listening.”

“In order to fight Thanos, we need a team. Not,” Steve said quickly when he noticed Tony’s raised eyebrows, “the Avengers. I’m talking about a group of people with the combined knowledge and strength to take down Thanos.”

“Are you sure you’re not talking about the Avengers?”

“No. Well, maybe I am.”

“I’m not sure the Avengers are our best bet here, Rogers. We’re kind of a failed concept.”

“I know you don’t like me very much anymore—”

“Never did.”

“—but if we actually want to win this time, we’re going to need to work together.”

“Just to be clear, you are asking for my help, right? ‘Cause you said before that you wouldn’t, and now I feel like you were lying to me.” Tony was tossing an object, presumably a piece of priceless technology, between his hands. It made Steve feel anxious, which seemed to amuse Tony.

“Yes, Tony, I’m asking for your help. I can’t do this without you.”

“That’s very sweet of you, but will you just tell me your plan already?”

“Right. At the moment, we need more people—”

“God, Rogers, the suspense is killing me. Get to the point.”

Steve let out a haggard breath, as if steeling himself for what he was about to say. “Remember Project Insight?”

“Your plan is to save the world by killing 700 000 people?” Steve sensed the keen interest behind Tony Stark’s sarcasm.

“Zola’s algorithm targeted people who could potentially pose a threat to HYDRA, including us. I think it’s safe to assume that all the people on the list are intelligent, independent thinkers who aren’t afraid to fight for what they believe.”

“First of all, I’m flattered. Second, it seems like your trying to tell me we should use Zola’s algorithm, or a version of it, to find new teammates for the war on Thanos.”

“Pretty much.”

Tony started to pace the room, rubbing his beard and mumbling to himself. “You know what, Rogers? Your plan is crazy. Actually, scratch that. Your plan is fucking batshit.”

“I’m aware there might be unforeseen consequences.”

“Might? Oh, there will definitely be unforeseen consequences if we try to convince strangers to fight a war we don’t even know how to fight ourselves.”

“Do you have a better idea?”

Tony looked away. He shook his head. “That’s the thing. I’ve been trying to figure out how we can do this in a way that’s not completely insane, but I can’t. Looks like your plan is our only option.”

“Does that mean you’ll help me?”

“If I can get my hands on some S.H.I.E.L.D. files on the algorithm I can probably recreate it. Is Fury…?” Steve shook his head. “Hill?”

“We haven’t been able to reach them. I think they disappeared in the…” Steve waved his hands in some kind of vague gesture, but quickly let them fall to his sides. “Natasha might know how to find the files.”

Tony nodded absentmindedly, his eyes fixed on a point somewhere in the distance. He was only silent for a few seconds before snapping back to face Steve. “You do realize your plan involves using one of HYDRA’s inventions? An invention that was supposed to help murder a bunch of people. And seeking people out based on their past records definitely sounds like a human rights violation. Doesn’t seem like something you’d be into, Rogers, what with your morals and righteousness.”

Steve seemed to consider Tony’s lighthearted tone and accusatory words carefully. His expression grew strained; suddenly his hundred-year-old face looked very tired. He shrugged. “Right now ethics aren’t a priority. Bringing back half the population is.”

“For once in your life you don’t sound like a condescending asshole.”

“I’m just doing my best, Tony. Always have.”

“To the detriment of others,” Tony mumbled under his breath. Steve smiled then. He had missed Tony, and all the flippant retorts and conflicts of interest that came with him. Tony smiled too, a slight quirk of his lip that quickly faded, as if smiling at Steve had been a spontaneous action he regretted. Almost like an instinct his body had carried out without the approval of his brain. “Just so we’re clear,” Tony began, suddenly very serious, “we’re not friends. You and I, we’re coworkers. We work together, make polite conversation, and at the end of the day we go home to our real friends. Got that?”

Steve’s smile never faltered, and neither did his weary expression. “It’s good to have you back.”


	2. Chapter 2

Tony made his way to the kitchen area, where he had been served breakfast just a few hours ago. At the time he had underestimated just how taxing this day was going to be. Any conversation with Rogers was an ordeal. Tony would need a lot more coffee before speaking with Romanoff.

As he walked through hallway after hallway Tony noted just how empty the place was. In his short time at the palace he had seen few people. Tony had been greeted by the newly appointed Queen Shuri, a young woman. A kid really, forced to mature in the face of tragedy. She had been surrounded by a few intimidating guards, the Dora Milaje. The Wakandans seemed to be running things with surprising efficiency, trying to return the country to order and security. However, they all showed signs of strain. From the newly appointed queen to the guards stationed around the palace, grief was the prevailing emotion. The Wakandans had suffered greatly in the war, perhaps more so than any other people. Any yet they managed to maintain a state of relative stability. Tony was impressed. He could hardly say the same for himself.

Once Tony had reached the kitchen, he began to make himself some strong coffee. He switched on the surprisingly low-tech coffee maker, which emitted a low gurgling sound. Tony found there was something soothing about executing such a mundane task, to pour hot coffee in a mug and burn your tongue on the first careful sip and accidentally rest your hand in a pile of crumbs someone had failed to brush off the counter. To listen to birds chirp outside and stand around in a kitchen which was definitely _not_ inside a palace and to almost, not entirely, but _almost_ feel normal. He relished the moment and at the same time looked forward to its end, because _normal_ for Tony wasn’t normal, wasn’t this. Tony Stark shouldn’t be standing around idly, shouldn’t be enjoying a cup of coffee in the kitchen. He should be fighting a bad guy, speaking at a press conference, designing the newest technology. He shouldn’t be wearing cotton sweatpants. He should be in a suit, nanotech or otherwise. Maybe Tony Stark was ready for some normalcy but the rest of the world wasn’t and the rest of the world wasn’t asking for his permission. They expected him to show up, of course they did. And here he was.

The sound of footsteps interrupted Tony’s musings; seconds later Nebula entered the room. They had not spoken to each other since the two of them had journeyed from Titan to Earth together. Nebula had then traveled directly to Wakanda, while Tony had spent a few days in New York. He had never really grown used to Nebula’s intense gaze, completely black eyes or dramatic way of speaking. The only thing they had in common was their shared desire to kill Thanos. Whereas Nebula had expressed her desire as a grandiose dream, often speaking of her murderous vision in excruciating detail, Tony’s will to kill Thanos was more down to Earth. More yeah-it’d-be-nice-if-this-guy-had-never-been-born than I-shall-rip-him-apart-with-my-bare-hands-and-watch-the-blood-drain-from-his-mangled-lifeless-body. Tony wasn’t exactly surprised they hadn’t bonded.

“Coffee?” he asked. Nebula studied the black liquid in the glass pot and shook her head. While Tony poured coffee into the biggest mug he could find, Nebula opened drawers and cabinets stocked with food. “You should try these,” Tony said, pointing at a box of cornflakes. Nebula reached skeptically into the box and put a piece of cereal in her mouth. “You need to eat them with milk. They’re better that way.” When Nebula only gave him a confused glance, Tony began to make her a bowl of cereal.

He sipped his coffee and watched as Nebula brought a spoonful of cornflakes to her mouth. She chewed slowly, deliberately. “This is good. Thank you,” she said. She really did sound grateful.

Just as Tony was about to leave, Nebula spoke again. “You have my respect, Stark.”

“You sound just like your dad.”

Nebula averted her eyes. She didn’t seem to appreciate the comparison. “Thanos chooses his enemies well. His greatest enemies are my greatest allies.”

Tony looked around, searching for a reply. “I don’t get it. Why me?”

Nebula only shrugged. “I don’t know why Thanos fears you, but I trust his judgement.”

Tony left the kitchen quickly after that. He made his way back through the same corridor, coffee mug in hand. Nebula had brought Tony’s memories of Thanos to the surface of his mind. He thought back to his encounter with Thanos on Titan. He remembered worrying the attempt to retrieve the gauntlet would fail. He thought of everything that could have gone wrong and everything that did. He remembered the sharp pain he had felt being stabbed; the disappointment watching Strange give up the Time Stone; the incredulity and despair when Peter had begun to disappear, the fear in the kid’s eyes…

Tony felt like he couldn’t breathe. His breaths came in short bursts. That familiar sensation of panic emerged, threatening to overwhelm his senses. He looked around, frantically searching for a private place to ride out the attack. Eventually, Tony grabbed the nearest doorknob and staggered inside a bedroom before collapsing on the floor. The coffee mug dropped out of his hand and broke as it hit the floor, spilling coffee and ceramic shards everywhere.

“Tony? Hey Tony, are you alright? Hey, look at me, okay? Just breathe. That’s it. Come on, keep breathing.” Tony let himself be soothed by the familiar voice. A strong pair of arms lifted him off the floor, where his face was laying dangerously close to the ceramic shards, and propped him against the wall. One hand around Tony’s shoulder, another against his chest, following the movement of his lungs as his breaths became more even.

“Shit, Tony, you look terrible,” Rhodey said once Tony had calmed down.

“Gee, thanks.”

Tony’s breathing was stable and his heart wasn’t pounding audibly anymore. Still, Rhodey looked worried. Tony slumped against the wall. He looked so small. “Glad you were here and not someone else,” he said eventually.

“This is my room.”

“I didn’t know that.”

Rhodey turned to face the wall. Tony felt more at ease without Rhodey scrutinizing him; he knew Rhodey would only find more reasons to be concerned about his well-being, and Tony didn’t feel like being lectured today. Judging by the look on his friend’s face, Rhodey was pretty beat too. “I didn’t even know when you were gonna be here,” Rhodey said. “You could’ve called me, you know.”

“I know, I should’ve called I just—” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and stifled a sob. Rhodey shifted in his position next to Tony and put his arms around his friend. Tony rested his forehead against Rhodey’s chest and allowed himself to cry, exhaustively and without inhibition. “I told him to go home. The kid. I didn’t want him to be there, I knew—” Tony tried to regain control of his voice. “I knew something bad was gonna happen,” he continued, but was interrupted by the more intense sobs. “He just… disappeared. Oh God, he was so scared. He said he was sorry and I didn’t get a chance to—”

“Hey, hey, Tony, it’s okay. We’re gonna bring him back. We’ll bring them all back.”

Tony didn’t attempt to speak again until he had stopped crying. He was still on the floor, now leaning partially against the wall and partially against Rhodey. His red-rimmed eyes stared blankly straight ahead. “I need to fix this,” he mumbled.

Rhodey shot him another worried glance. “You know it’s not your fault, right? Because none of this is your fault.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I don’t think you do. I think you’re just saying what you think I wanna hear.”

Tony took a deep breath and sat up straight. “What do want me to say then?” He was angry now, his voice steady and harsh, his fists clenched, his posture tense. “Do you want me to tell you how I screwed up on the grandest fucking scale and how I let down everyone I care about? Because that’s exactly what happened. I could’ve prevented this. This whole mess, it’s on me.”

“You need to stop blaming yourself for every goddamn thing that goes wrong.” Rhodey was angry now too. “It’s not always about you.”

“Then how do you explain all the shit that’s been happening since I became Iron Man? It’s not a coincidence, Rhodey. I started this. And you can bet your sweet ass I’m gonna finish it.” Tony had risen to his feet and was moving quickly toward the door. Rhodey, in an attempt to follow him, stood up hastily. Rhodey winced a little and clutched the wall for support. Tony could tell the movement was painful for him.

“Tony. You can’t keep doing this. You can’t just keep fighting all the time. It’ll break you.”

Tony stayed silent for several seconds, several heartbeats. Then, as he stood in the doorway prepared to leave, he turned back to Rhodey. “If It does, then at least I’ll know I’ve done the right thing.”

 

★★★

 

Tony found Romanoff sitting on a bench in the gardens together with Banner. From where Tony was standing only their backs were visible. They almost looked like two regular people hanging out at the park, having an amicable conversation about nothing while surrounded by flowers in every color imaginable. The whole scene might have been beautiful if it hadn’t seemed so eerily out of place. 

“So apparently you and I need to chat. Captain’s orders,” Tony said, looking at Romanoff. She and Bruce ended their conversation abruptly and looked at Tony in surprise. There was something about their guilty expressions that gave Tony an idea. “Wait a minute, you two aren’t…?” he continued, pointing his fingers and gesturing between them.

“What! No, no, no,” Bruce said quickly. Natasha shook her head vigorously in agreement.

“But there was a time when…?”

“No,” Natasha replied. However, she proceeded to give Bruce a knowing smile, which he reciprocated.

“What was that?”

“What?” Bruce asked in mock-confusion.

“That look, that little smile, what was that?”

“Nothing,” Natasha said, smiling again.

“You know, it’s really best if you just tell me. Otherwise I’ll just keep picturing you doing unspeakable things.”

“No. No! We never…” Bruce cast Tony an irritated look. “I mean, we did kiss a few times, but that was, like, years ago.”

“Kissed? What is this, a middle school dance?”

“Didn’t you have something you wanted to talk to me about?” Natasha said in her usual deadpan voice, taking control of the conversation before it got too out of hand.

“Right. I’m sure Rogers told you about his plan to get some new people to join the team.”

“What team?” Banner asked, this time genuinely confused.

“The team that’s gonna save the universe. Did he not tell you about that?”

Natasha and Bruce exchanged looks once again. “We didn’t think he was serious.”

“What?”

“Steve’s a bit…?” Bruce trailed off.

“What? Desperate? Depressed? Messed up due to recent events? Oh wait, that’s all of us.”

“Sure, but—”

“Are you saying you don’t wanna help save the universe? I find that very surprising coming from you, Bruce.”

“Look, Tony, I respect you, I really do—”

“You know people keep saying that, and yet I’m not getting a very respectful vibe right now. I just want to know if you’re in or out. Because if you’re out, you don’t need to stay here with those of us who actually care.”

“Come on, Tony don’t be like that. You know I wanna help.”

“So you’re in.”

Bruce sighed. He was seated with his elbows rested on his knees, hands ruffling his hair as he considered Tony’s proposition. Then he looked up. Bruce gave a lopsided smile. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess I’m in. I never had any dignity anyway.” Tony smiled in appreciation and clapped Bruce on the back.

“Romanoff? You in?”

“If we’re gonna defeat Thanos we have a lot of work to do. It’s a complicated situation, and I’m not sure I trust this leadership to make the right decisions when we have so little concrete information to work with.”

“If you have issues with the leadership, you should take it up with Cap. I’m just the tech guy.”

“You’re never just the tech guy,” Bruce added.

Tony ignored his comment. “As for the lack of information, that’s what I’m here to talk to you about. Cap’s plan is to use Zola’s algorithm to find people who might be useful to us. With their help maybe we can set up some research teams that can try to track Thanos down, figure out how the Stones work, that sort of thing.”

“Those are some pretty high expectations for a group of strangers.”

Tony shrugged. “I bet you told Fury the same thing when he wanted you to get us to join the Avengers.”

“And look how well that turned out.”

“At least we’re all here, aren’t we?”

Natasha stood up, crossed her arms and looked around the garden. When she returned Tony’s gaze, she looked determined. “I’m guessing you want me to track down the Project Insight files.”

Tony nodded. “Can you?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have security clearance?”

“No. But I know someone who does.”

“Great. We should probably leave soon, before Cap gets all fidgety.”

“Six o’clock tomorrow morning. We’ll take your Quinjet to New York.”

“There’s a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility in New York?” Bruce asked.

“It’s new.”

“Those guys just can’t take a hint.” Tony mused.

“We clearly need them.”

“I guess it really is the end of the world.”


	3. Chapter 3

“It’s come to me attention that there’s a lot of confusion concerning the plan. I thought I’d take this opportunity to answer a few questions.” Steve addressed the room in his best authoritative voice. The rather large space was furnished with comfy couches and chairs and currently filled with an assorted group of Avengers, Guardians and Wakandas. As soon as Steve had finished speaking dozens of hands flew up. Steve scratched his head sheepishly and pointed at Thor. “Go ahead.”

Rocket, who was standing in front of Thor stepped forward, evidently in the belief that Steve had been pointing at him. Quite frankly, Steve hadn’t noticed the alien raccoon, who was a good few feet shorter than everyone else. “Yeah, I have a question. Who the fuck do you think you are?” Rocket asked in an accusatory tone.

“Sorry?”

“You heard me. You can’t just waltz in here, swinging your dick around and acting like you own the place. You’re not the boss of me. You’re not the boss of any of us and I think it’s real arrogant of you to just expect us to go along with your psycho plan and do whatever you want.”

“I don’t expect everyone to agree with me. If you don’t, fine. Anyone who doesn’t want to be here can leave.”

Rocket looked from Steve, whose expression remained stable and calm, to the rest of the people gathered around him. “Screw this. I’m outta here.” Rocket marched through the mildly amused crowd. “Bunch of scumbag Terrans trying to boss me around,” he muttered as he moved toward the door. “Can’t believe Quill lived with these morons for eight years, I won’t make it another week without clawing someone’s eyes out…”

“Wait.” Nebula blocked Rocket’s path with an outstretched arm. “You once wielded the Power Stone. You may have information useful to this mission. I will not let you leave until you share it.”

Rocket spun around and pointed his gun at Nebula, who stared unblinkingly back. He looked around the room and snarled, baring his sharp teeth. “No way am I helping you! You guys are jerks. You all treat me like I’m some kind of animal. I spent days thinking my friends were gonna turn up here before one of you jackasses thought to tell me they were all dead. You know how that makes me feel?” The group of people remained silent. Rocket’s harsh tone eased slightly when he realized his audience wasn’t disagreeing with him. “So,” he continued, “now I’m gonna go ahead and withhold information from you just like you did to me. Eye for an eye.” Then Rocket turned to Thor. “You know, I’m gonna want that back at some point.” 

Thor touched his fake eye and frowned. “We may not have treated you fairly, but I know you care deeply about you friends, and working with us is your best chance to save them.”

“How can I believe that? How can I take any of you seriously when you all think going after Thanos is a great idea. You know he’s probably sitting on some planet a million light-years away just waiting for us to show up, totally ready to kill us. And this time he’s gonna kill all of us. So yeah, it’s a no from me. Unlike the rest of you I’m not trying to entertain some floozy with a death wish.”

“It is likely that Thanos will be prepared for our arrival,” Nebula added.

“Then we need to be prepared as well. Those of us who have information on Thanos or the Stones are gonna need to bring the rest of us up to speed. That said, I’m not forcing anyone to stay here against their will. If anyone wants to leave, go now. The rest of us will be spending the foreseeable future figuring out how to reverse the Snap and bring our loved ones back.” Steve paused. Dozens of eyes stared alertly at the man with the plan. When no one moved to leave the room, he continued, ”Good. Now, our first step is to put together a team. Tony and Natasha are working on finding people who might be able to help us. I’ve also tried to contact Clint Barton and Scott Lang.” A few confused whispers and mutters erupted around the room. “Hawkeye and Ant-Man,” Steve clarified.

“We should try to get in touch with Jane Foster,” Thor said. “She’s an astrophysicist who studied the Convergence and for a short time she was a host for the Reality Stone.”

“Isn’t she also your ex?” Bruce asked.

“Yes, that too.” Thor seemed slightly uncomfortable.

“Exposure to an Infinity Stone would normally kill a human,” Shuri stated.

“That’s true. But in Jane’s case, the Stone infested her and drew power from her body.”

“Hmm. And what’s the Convergence?”

“The alignment of the Nine Realms.”

Shuri decided not to inquire further, realizing this wasn’t the time to learn about stuff like the Nine Realms. “It sounds like we could really use Foster. Do you know where she is?”

“No.” The air of hopefulness that had been growing slowly, carefully throughout the course of the conversation disappeared. A dozen people who had been holding their breaths in anticipation or maybe just tension let out quiet sighs. “I can try to find her, but I’m not sure I’ll succeed.” Thor sounded doubtful.

After a moment of silent thoughtfulness Bruce spoke up. “I met this guy Wong. He’s a sorcerer like Strange. I think he might know something about the Time Stone. And I know where he is. I mean, if he’s not, you know...”

“Great. Does anyone else come to mind?” Steve asked the room. Silence again. “Then I guess we can move on to the next step: Finding Thanos. Any ideas?”

“I’ve been studying the scan I took of the Mind Stone and I noticed something peculiar. It seems like the Stone emits a kind of powerful radiation I’m not familiar with,” Shuri said.

“That’s great. I mean, even if we don’t know what kind of radiation it is, maybe we can develop a device that can detect it. That way we can find Thanos, assuming that he still has the gauntlet,” Bruce added. For the first time in weeks he sounded excited.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

Steve decided to interrupt the conversation before Shuri and Bruce got too bogged down with scientific details. “Okay, good. The last thing I wanted to talk about is—”

“I will be the one to kill Thanos.” Nebula spoke with such determination that Steve realized this must be her greatest desire in the world.

Steve let Nebula’s words sink in before he asked the group, “Any objections?” Again he was met by a respectful silence. “Right. Nebula will kill Thanos. That leaves us with one more question: Who’s going to wield the gauntlet?”

“No regular mortal can wield the gauntlet. It would tear you to shreds within seconds,” Nebula explained.

The crowd of people muttered and turned their heads in search of the most suitable candidate. Eventually a dozens pairs of eyes fell on Thor, who seemed to have anticipated this reaction. “I’d be honored to wield the gauntlet—”

“Hey man, you can’t do that. You have a people to lead. I mean, what if they all came back and you were dead, that just wouldn’t be right,” Bruce interjected in a concerned voice.

“That’s exactly what I was thinking. I would gladly sacrifice myself for the universe, but I have a responsibility toward Asgard.”

“Well if Thor can’t use the gauntlet, who can?” Rhodey asked from the back of the room.

“I was actually going to suggest myself,” Steve said.

Suddenly Bruce burst out laughing, a laugh that faltered quickly. “Oh come on, that’s funny,” he said to the stony-faced individuals who were definitely not laughing. “‘Cause Steve’s human, and Nebula just said humans would die if they…”

“They get it,” Thor told Bruce, patting his friend’s back in consolation.

“But they’re not laughing.” Bruce cleared his throat and looked at Steve, suddenly very serious. “Hey man, I know you’re a good guy and all but you’re not, like, a god.”

Steve shrugged and looked away for a second. When he turned back to Bruce, his stance crumpled, just a little. “Do you have a better idea?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean your idea’s a good one,” Bruce replied.

“The Stones will kill an average human. Well, I’m not an average human.”

“I don’t think your bulging biceps are gonna keep the Stones from ripping you apart. Was that it? Ripping apart?” Bruce said with a quizzical glance at Nebula.

“It’s more like this energy that’s trying to blow you up from the inside,” Rocket replied instead.

“Did you hear that? Come on, Steve, this is crazy, even for you.” Bruce stepped into the middle of the room. He spun around, taking in everyone’s reactions. “Are you all hearing this? Are you…? Oh my God, you’re on his side aren’t you?”

“Out of all of us, Captain Rogers is the one least likely to be killed in an attempt to use the gauntlet,” Shuri offered, trying kindly to reason with Bruce.

“Oh, this is bad, this is very bad.” Bruce had begun to pace around, cradling his head in his hands, which was, indeed, a bad sign. “We are so screwed.”

“Hey, Banner, you’ve got to calm down,” Thor said. He grabbed Bruce’s shoulders with force, a gesture which only slightly eased Bruce out of his spiral of panicked rambling.

“I don’t like this. Steve… Steve’s gonna use the gauntlet and then he’s gonna blow up and then the rest of us will die too and then… We’re all gonna die, aren’t we?”

“No! Well, maybe. There is a slight chance of us dying, but it’s totally unlikely! Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because we have you! You’re going to find Thanos and save the universe!” Thor punched the air with his fist, to show Bruce he meant business.

“Yeah.” Bruce considered Thor’s words with enthusiasm. “Yeah! I’m gonna get to use my brain this time!”

“Yeah you are!”

Shuri cleared her throat loudly. “If you two are finished I’d like to bring Dr. Banner to my lab. We have a lot of work to do.”

After Shuri had led an overeager Bruce Banner away, the people gathered for the meeting began to disperse. In the end, only Thor and Steve were left in the room. “So, sacrificing yourself to save the world? I can’t say I’m surprised,” Thor said mildly.

Steve gave a lopsided smile. “I couldn’t think of a better idea.”

Thor chuckled in response. “I’m sure Stark will have something to say about it.”

“I’m sure he will.”


	4. Chapter 4

It was dark and Tony couldn’t see a thing. He was alone. And he was somewhere far from home; he knew that much. From the middle of the room, an object began to glow softly. Tony walked toward the golden light. He reached for the object, a bejeweled glove: the gauntlet. He slipped it on. The Stones flashed, their light colorful and blinding. Tony could feel their energy, their power. The world around him faded, he tried to concentrate on his mission. _Bring them back_ , he thought. His vision blurred, his senses could no longer perceive the space around him, nor the time binding him to reality. Tony felt as if he were being crushed and at the same time consumed. He fell to his knees. He knew he had to hold on…

Tony woke with a jolt. It took a moment for him to remember where he was. He stared at the ceiling of the Quinjet, trying to recall the details of his strangely vivid dream.

“Sleep well?” Natasha asked from behind the jet’s control system. They had set the aircraft to autopilot long ago, but Natasha had made a point of staying behind the controls, ostensibly as a security measure. Tony was pretty sure she was just a control freak.

“Yeah, guess so,” Tony replied, unsure if he was lying or not. “Where are we?”

Natasha showed him their coordinates, smack-dab in the middle of the Atlantic. Tony sat down next to her in the copilot’s seat. Natasha glanced at him. She seemed thoughtful, as if she had something on her mind. Sure enough, she took the opportunity to speak.

“Why exactly are you so invested in this plan?”

“You mean the plan to save the universe? Not sure, thought it might be a fun little project.” Tony avoided Natasha’s eye.

“I was just surprised to see you so worked up. Especially about a plan Steve came up with.”

“I’m not sure what you’re getting at, but I’m pretty sure we don’t have the right kind of relationship to be talking about it.”

“I guess you could say I’m worried about you. Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable.”

“It does, actually.”

“It’s fine if you don’t wanna talk to me. Just as long as you have someone else to talk to.”

“Why do you care?” Tony asked, slightly bitter but mostly puzzled by Natasha’s sincerity.

“You seem pretty shaken up. After everything that’s happened, we all need people to lean on. To keep us from going insane.” Natasha looked Tony in the eye. “You got anyone like that?”

“I have Pepper.”

“Isn’t she in New York managing your company?”

“It’s really more her company at this point.”

Another pointed look from Natasha. “If you don’t wanna deal with your shit, fine by me.” She used a fake-disinterested voice, in an attempt to trick Tony into regretting his aloofness and opening up. Tony totally saw through the tactic. The infuriating thing was that it was working.

“Thanos did a number on me.” Tony took a deep breath. His eyes were still fixed on the ocean, but instead of the smooth, gray water he saw the dusty rock of Titan. In his mind he was still facing off with Thanos. “Threw a moon at me, stabbed me, threatened to kill me for the Time Stone. It was pretty rough.”

“Uh-huh. And how did it make you feel?”

“Seriously?” Tony scoffed. “ _You_ wanna talk about feelings. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you show any emotion.”

“I don’t wanna give you the satisfaction.” Natasha paused and looked away, switching back into serious therapist mode. “What else happened on Titan?”

Tony took a deep breath. “Peter was there, you know, Spider-Man? I tried to send him home but he snuck onto the ship...” Tony trailed off and gazed fixedly at the clouds around them. 

Natasha interpreted his silence correctly. “So Peter too, huh?”

Tony crossed his arms defensively over his chest. He felt like he’d shared too much. And, even worse, mentioning Peter had released a tempest of swirling emotions he wasn’t sure he could contain. Tony’s mental state was a thunderstorm, his grief and guilt pent-up electricity just waiting to be discharged.

“I’m sorry you lost him,” Natasha said.

“Maybe I should take a page outta your book and just never get close to anyone.”

“It’s a lonely life.”

“Yeah, well, I’d rather be lonely than feel like this.”

“Loneliness is a different kind of pain.”

“Shit. You can’t win.”

“Guess you can’t.”

 

★★★

 

After a few hours Tony began to fiddle with the controls, procuring a holographic screen which he tapped several times.

“What are you doing?” Natasha asked, but her question was drowned out by the sound of loud music blaring from the Quinjet’s speakers.

“What did you say?” Tony asked, lowering the volume slightly.

“I said this is awful.”

“It’s AC/DC.”

“I hate it.”

Tony was baffled. “Wow, okay, I was not expecting that.” He turned off the music. The silence that ensued amplified every little sound, as if their ears were making up for the lack of deafening noise. “I guess I have no idea what kind of music you like.”

Natasha seemed weirdly pleased with Tony’s comment. “Ed Sheeran,” she said eventually.

“What was that?”

“I like Ed Sheeran.”

“I heard you, I was just in shock.”

A smile played at Natasha’s lips. “What can I say? He’s the greatest lyricist of our time.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Okay, well I don’t have Ed Sheeran.”

“Too bad. If you did I would’ve sung along.”

Tony gave Natasha an incredulous look, clearly unable to comprehend the amount of new information he had just learned about her. “I can’t believe I missed that opportunity.”

Natasha was quiet, but only for a few seconds. “ _I’m gonna pick up the pieces, and build a Lego house. If things go wrong we can knock it down._ ” Her voice was high and clear.

“Oh my God.” Tony was leaned back in his chair, fingers at his chin. He grinned and shook his head.

“ _My three words have two meanings, there’s one thing on my mind. It’s all for you. _”__

____

“Don’t stop. Please, keep going.”

____

“Nope.”

____

“Pretty please?”

____

“Not a word of this to anyone,” Natasha said in a warning tone. She sounded serious, intimidating. Back to her usual self.

____

Tony was still smiling minutes later.

____

Suddenly, without prompt and without warning, he began belting out a tune. “ _I was caught in the middle of a railroad track. I looked round and I knew there was no turning back_ ,” Tony sang in an awful falsetto. “My mind raced. And I knew what to do.”

____

Natasha shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Fine, you can turn it back on.”

____

_Thunder_ began to blare from the speakers once again.

____

_Thunder._

____

_Thunder._

____

 

____

“You know, I used to be in a band,” Tony said once the song had played for a while.

____

“Really?” Natasha laughed a short, breathy laugh. “With who?”

____

“With Rhodey. We were called Tony and the Tanks. I was lead singer of course. And lead guitarist. Rhodey was our drummer.”

____

“So there was only one tank?”

____

“The name was a work in progress.”

____

“Clearly,” Natasha teased.

____

“Hey.”

____

Tony left his seat to rummage around a cabinet, eventually procuring a bag of potato chips. “Chip?” he offered the bag to Natasha.

____

“How old are these?” she asked, tentatively reaching for a chip.

____

“Remember Ultron?”

____

Natasha grimaced, but ate half the bag all the same.

____

 

____

★★★

____

 

____

“You know, you still haven’t told me who we’re supposed to be meeting,” Tony said as Natasha steered the Quinjet toward a large warehouse sitting in an otherwise empty lot, all surrounded by a chain-link fence.

____

“I thought you’d have figured it out by now.”

____

_Now_ was around noon. The sun shone directly above their heads, barely warming the chilly spring air. They began walking toward the seemingly abandoned building.

____

Tony recognized a figure standing casually by the entrance to the building. “Seriously? This guy?”

____

“Did you have higher expectations?”

____

Tony shook his head. “Cap’s gonna be pissed at you when he finds out.”

____

“Probably. I just thought it’d be best not to drag him into this mess.”

____

“Good call.”

____

“Tony!” Clint exclaimed. He pulled Tony into an involuntary hug. “I heard you went to space.”

____

“Is that the only thing you took away from the whole war?”

____

“Yeah, I don’t know much. I’ve been pretty isolated from the world. Didn’t find out about anything until the power went out on the farm. Then Nat called and explained everything a couple weeks ago. The way I understand it… I guess I got lucky.”

____

“Wait, you’ve been in Iowa this whole time?”

____

“Yep.”

____

“How did you even get here?”

____

“Drove,” Clint replied, gesturing at a run-down old Ford parked behind him. “A lot of the roads were blocked, but there’s not really any traffic nowadays.” Clint cleared his throat. “So, how was your trip?”

____

“Surprisingly pleasant,” Tony said.

____

“Awful,” Natasha said. Tony turned to her and raised his eyebrows in an offended manner. Natasha shook her head and said to Clint, “He played AC/DC the entire time.”

____

“Did you tell him we’re Ed heads?”

____

“Sorry, am I hallucinating or do the two deadliest assassins in the world call themselves ‘Ed heads’?”

____

“We’re only human. Nobody’s immune to his—”

____

“Sappy love ballads?” Both Clint and Natasha looked affronted. “Huh, looks like I struck a nerve. Lucky for you we have better things to do,” Tony said, nodding at the entrance to the building.

____

Although Tony was sure he wasn’t going to be forgiven for mocking Ed Sheeran any time soon, Clint complied. He opened the lid of a box attached to the wall to reveal a fingerprint scanner, then touched the scanner with his index finger.

____

“Voice authorization required,” a robotic female voice announced.

____

“Barton, Clint.”

____

“Access granted.”

____

Tony heard the sound of a lock clicking. Clint pushed open the door.

____

“That’s it?” Tony asked, slightly incredulous.

____

“Yeah, that’s it.”

____

“Security’s pretty lax.”

____

“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s not what it used to be,” Natasha added.

____

“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s not even supposed to exist.” 

____

Natasha shrugged her shoulders in response.

____

Tony followed Clint and Natasha into the warehouse. Inside he was met by a large, open space containing only rows of shelves stuffed with files. He soon noticed several seemingly inconspicuous doors and wondered what might be behind them. Although Tony realized this wasn’t the time to bring it up, he desperately wanted to know what S.H.I.E.L.D. had been up to during the past years. He never did believe that S.H.I.E.L.D. would disappear entirely, but to operate in New York, right under Tony’s nose? That was a bold move, even for Fury.

____

After a minute spent at a computer, Natasha discovered that a temporary power outage had triggered a program to automatically wipe all of S.H.I.E.L.D.S.’s digital files. However, the collection of paper files was, of course, still there. The group quickly found what they were looking for. Tony began to flip through the file titled Project Insight.

____

“That all you need?” Clint asked.

____

Tony nodded, his eyes still fixated on the page. “This is it all right. This is all I need to recreate Zola’s algorithm.”

____

“Are you really gonna do… that whole thing?”

____

“That’s the plan.”

____

“I’m not even gonna pretend to be excited about this.”

____

“Are you coming with us?” Natasha asked.

____

“I don’t see that I have a choice.”

____

“Well, Cap will be happy to see you,” Tony said.

____

“You’re not?”

____

“Not even a little.”

____

Clint laughed, but his face soon settled on a more grim, more circumstantially appropriate expression. “Before we go to Wakanda… could we stop by the farm? Laura wants me to say goodbye to the kids.”

____

Tony looked at Natasha; both of them considered Clint’s proposition.

____

“Sure,” Tony said eventually. “I bet we can afford to delay our untimely deaths at the hands of Ugly Space Grape a few hours.”

____

The three of them boarded the Quinjet and set out for Clint’s farm in Iowa, leaving his car and the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s secret-but-apparently-not- _that_ -secret files behind.

____

 

____

★★★

____

 

____

As soon as Tony, Clint and Natasha had stepped outside, a small child came running toward them. “Daddy!” he cried, moving as fast as he could with those stubby little legs. The kid laughed and ran straight into his father’s outstretched arms. Clint lifted him up and pointed at Natasha. “Look, Nathaniel, there’s aunty Nat.”

____

Natasha’s face softened. She smiled at the child and crouched down a little so that her face was level with his. “Hi there, little guy. Remember me?” Nathaniel’s expression changed from cheerful to bashful. He grabbed Clint’s shirt and held on tightly, giving Natasha a wide-eyed fearful stare. Natasha kept on smiling, but Tony noticed a hint of disappointment in her face.

____

“I bet it’s the hair,” Clint said, apparently noticing Natasha’s expression as well.

____

“Yeah, I bet.”

____

“It’s not like three-year-olds have such great long-term memories anyway,” Tony said. Natasha gave him a look. A year ago he probably would have taken it for a death glare, but now Tony recognized the look as silent appreciation.

____

“That’s Tony. Say hi to Tony, Nathy.” Nathaniel looked from Tony to Clint and back again, as if not sure what to make of the stranger.

____

“Hey there, kiddo. We actually met before, when you were in your mom’s tummy, but you won’t remember that.” Nathaniel suddenly seemed less shy and stretched a tentative hand toward Tony’s face. He touched Tony’s beard and began to giggle.

____

“Do you like Tony’s beard?” Clint asked.

____

“It’s funny!” Nathaniel exclaimed, still laughing.

____

“Funny’s not bad. I would’ve gone for ‘fashionable’ or ‘iconic’, but I’ll take funny.”

____

“Iconic’s a bit of a stretch,” Natasha quipped. Then she turned her attention in the direction of the farm and smiled. Tony looked up to see Laura strolling toward them, two kids trailing behind her like puppies. Suddenly one of the kids broke free and bounded toward Natasha, who swooped down for a hug.

____

“Aunty Nat! I haven’t seen you in forever!” the little girl proclaimed. “Daddy says you had to run away because you were fighting with Iron Man.”

____

Natasha gave Tony an amused look. “That’s… pretty accurate.”

____

The third kid, Cooper, joined his sister and hugged Natasha, who presumably wasn’t so jealous of Nathaniel’s reaction to Tony anymore. Laura greeted Natasha and Tony before turning to Clint.

____

“Are you going to leave now?” she asked, sad but not surprised.

____

“Yeah, I just came to say goodbye.”

____

“How about you stay for dinner? Just dinner and then you can go save the world, Hawkeye.”

____

“I’m sorry honey, but I don’t think—”

____

“We’ll stay,” Natasha stated, smiling at the kids who proceeded to hug her again.

____

“We should really start working on the algorithm,” Tony replied.

____

“It can wait.”

____

“Good,” Laura said. “Because I’m making meatloaf.”

____

As the group began walking toward the house, Nathaniel squirmed in Clint’s arms. “You wanna walk by yourself?” Clint asked him. Nathaniel shook his head and pointed at Tony. Before Tony could react, Clint had handed him the kid.

____

Tony instinctively wrapped his arms around the child. He looked down at Nathaniel, who had one hand around his neck and was using the other to poke at Tony’s beard. The kid smiled. Tony smiled back. Natasha gave Tony another look, but this one he was unable to read.

____

 

____

Once Tony, Natasha, and the Bartons had finished dinner, there was no more stalling to do. It wouldn’t be right to stay longer, Tony reasoned, and everyone else agreed.

____

Tony was standing in the living room, waiting idly for the rest of his team to finish preparing for the journey. In Natasha’s case, the preparation included examining Clint’s large collection of CDs and grabbing anything slow-paced and romantic. Tony wondered if this really was Natasha’s music taste or if she was just picking out songs she knew Tony would hate. Either way, Tony was starting to regret not removing the outdated CD-player from the Quinjet.

____

Through the open door leading to the hallway Tony watched Clint say goodbye to his family. As Clint hugged each of his children in turn, they began to cry. After several unsuccessful attempts to console them, Laura led Nathaniel and Cooper, both teary-eyed and heavyhearted, upstairs to their bedrooms. However, the daughter, Lila, would not let go of her father’s leg. She held onto his calf, crying and repeating, over and over again, that she didn’t want him to leave. Clint murmured something in response that Tony couldn’t hear, but which resulted in a somber embrace.

____

Clint was sitting on the floor, maybe crying, maybe not, holding his daughter for several minutes before he slowly, carefully pulled away. It seemed as if Lila had fallen asleep, presumably exhausted from crying. When Laura came back downstairs, Clint handed her the dozing child. Laura cradled Lila’s head against her chest and moved to carry the girl away. She was already halfway up the stairs when Tony spoke.

____

“There’s been a slight change of plans.” Clint, Laura and Natasha turned to stare at him in surprise. “I’m sorry, Clint, but it looks like we’re benching you.”

____

“What?” Clint asked, his tone incredulous.

____

“Yup. Obviously, we’d love to bring your bow and arrows to a space battle, but you’re gonna have to sit this one out. No hard feelings, I hope.”

____

Laura was the first to react. She crossed the living room with quick, light steps and kissed Tony’s cheek. “Thank you,” she whispered emphatically. Tony could practically feel the joy and gratitude radiating from her smile.

____

After Laura had left, Clint was still standing in the hallway, hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans, brow furrowed thoughtfully. “I have to admit, I’m not exactly upset not to be going with you guys and fighting in some war. To be honest, I barely know what this one’s about.” Clint gave a lopsided smile. “I guess that makes me a bad person.”

____

“No it doesn’t.” Tony shook his head. “It just means you’re a good dad.”

____

After that, there just wasn’t much more to say. Tony and Natasha bid Clint farewell; Clint wished them luck. As the two of them were walking toward the Quinjet, Natasha patted Tony’s arm. “That was really sweet of you,” she said.

____

“Yeah, well, even if I don’t die in this war my conscience will probably kill me. Can’t stand the idea of his family…” Tony trailed off, not really knowing what to say and not really wanting to say it anyway. “I figured we can spare an archer in the upcoming war against the biggest douchebag in the universe.” He knew he sounded evasive. “It’s better this way.”

____

Natasha nodded. After several moments of silence, Tony assumed she wasn’t going to respond. But then she did. “We have what we have when we have it,” she said solemnly. Tony didn’t ask her what she meant, but he was pretty sure he understood.

____

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't come up with the line 'we have what we have when we have it', it's from a CA:CW deleted scene.


	5. Chapter 5

Steve was feeling pretty useless. Standing around in Shuri’s lab, listening to her discuss with Bruce the Stones and the energy they apparently radiated, he couldn’t help but feel out of place. The truth was, Steve didn’t really know what to do with himself. Everyone else had a mission, a purpose, a part to play. Not Steve. All he had was his plan. He supposed being the one to come up with the plan automatically made him the leader of the whole operation; Steve just wasn’t quite sure what that role entailed. It made him jumpy, restless. It made him want to be as close to the action as possible, even if it meant just standing around in Shuri’s lab looking pretty.

Queen Shuri’s laboratory had recently been turned into a common area of sorts, a place where Wakandans, Avengers and aliens alike filtered in and out throughout the day. It was the place people would gather to discuss Infinity Stones, outer space and a bunch of other things which, if he was being perfectly honest, Steve didn’t quite understand. Shuri and Bruce were the only constants, the only two people who never seemed to leave the room. At the moment they were focused on sketches and equations, both mumbling and shaking their heads.

“Captain.” Steve immediately recognized Tony’s voice. Soon enough, the man himself was standing before him. “Did you survive without me?”

Steve leaned forward, his elbows resting on a desk, and smiled wearily. Tony lifted the corner of his mouth, almost a smile. Almost. “You’ll have to ask the experts,” Steve said, gesturing toward the scientists and the group of people gathered around them.

Tony turned around and studied the small crowd. He pointed at Wong, whose old-fashioned robes made him stand out among the rest. “When did he get here?” Tony asked.

“No idea,” Steve replied, shaking his head.

“Running a tight ship I see.”

“Did you come here just to insult me?”

“The insults are a bonus. I really came here to show you this.” Tony placed the tablet on the desk. Rows of words and symbols flashed across the screen. “I was working on it during the trip. Just finished it.”

“That was quick.”

“It wasn’t so complicated. HYDRA aren’t as smart as they think they are.”

“Does it work?”

“Obviously. I made some changes, reprogrammed it to filter out anyone who’s dead and anyone who’s unwilling to work with us.”

“That’s really impressive, Tony.”

“Am I supposed to be flattered? I know you’d say anything to get in my pants.”

“So, how many people are left?” Steve asked, excited to be involved again, excited to see his plan moving forward.

“Three,” Tony replied.

“Three? You must have made a mistake.”

“I don’t make mistakes.” Steve raised his eyebrows. “Not with this.”

“Then how can the algorithm only have chosen three people? There were more than 700,000 on HYDRA’s kill list.”

“Half of them went in the Snap, and as for the rest… Let’s just say the public isn’t too fond of us. They especially love roasting us on Twitter.”

“Are you saying that everyone except for three people has said something negative about us on social media?”

“I’m afraid so, Rogers.”

Steve took a deep breath. “I’m not sure why I’m surprised.”

Tony smiled then, finally. “You can’t stand it, can you? Being hated?”

“I’ve always been hated.”

“Not by the public.” Steve nodded as if to say yeah you got me there. Tony stood up and started walking around, his tone turning confident and gleeful at the notion of being able to mock Steve Rogers. “Tell me, how does it feel not to be America’s Golden Boy anymore?”

“I’m pretty okay with it actually. I didn’t start doing this just to be liked.”

“Maybe not, but you you’ve gotten used to it.” Steve gave a little smirk. He was, in fact, delighted to finally see Tony relaxed around him. Steve decided to allow Tony to tease him, just for a little while. “Admit it, you love the attention,” Tony continued, “you can’t stand not being liked.”

“I’d… prefer to be liked by the public, sure. But I would never sacrifice my integrity for the sake of preserving my image.”

“Wisely spoken, Cap. Wisely and honorably. Did you know you always sound like you’re talking to an audience? And yet you’re trying to convince me you’re no people-pleaser.”

Steve sensed a slight shift in Tony’s tone: his voice was no longer light and breezy. Steve chose his words with caution. “Like I said, I’m just being myself. Not trying to please anyone.”

“That your way of saying you’re not gonna apologize for fucking up my life at every given opportunity?”

There it was. Perhaps it had been naive of Steve to expect anything else of Tony, anything but snide remarks and grave accusations. That’s just the way it was between them, and no grand plan to save the universe was going to change that. Steve took a moment to gather his thoughts; the last thing he wanted was to upset Tony yet again. “Every now and then,” he began, “I have to make a choice between sticking to the path I’m on or straying from that path. And those choices aren’t always easy. Sometimes those choices end up hurting someone I care for, including you, Tony, and I’m sorry for that. But when I make a choice to mess with something big, it’s because I know that the path I’m on is wrong and that innocent people are gonna get hurt if I don’t try to stop it. And I’m not gonna apologize for that. But believe me, Tony, it was never my intention to hurt you or ‘fuck up your life’.”

“And yet you do it so beautifully.”

Steve remained silent for a long time. His tongue struggled to string his conflicted feelings into coherent sentences. Words with insufficient meaning kept popping into his head. He decided to say nothing, rather than say anything.

“You lied to me about my parents’ death.”

“And I apologized.”

“Yeah, well, sorry doesn’t cut it.”

“I know.”

Tony’s expression remained blank, devoid of emotion. Steve had seen that expression before. He liked to think of it as Tony’s ‘I’m done with this shit’ face.

Tony said, in a slightly exasperated tone, “Man, you really are stubborn.”

Steve was done with this shit, too. He wished there was a way to make things right with Tony. Although Steve would never compromise his morals and political beliefs, he could surely make nice with his former friend. Maybe Tony just need a little more time.

“Some might say to a fault,” Steve replied eventually, a mischievous glimmer in his eye.

“Some might say your idolized status and lack of adversity have caused you to be unable to make compromises and deal with consequences like a normal adult.”

“I can only think of one person who would say that.”

“Then you’re probably hanging out with the wrong people.”

“Probably. It’s nice to have a little adversity now and then.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t wanna make things too easy for you.”

“You rarely do.”

Tony averted his eyes. “Well, if it’s any consolation, the public seems to hate me just as much as you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. If they don’t hate all of us they at least hate one of us. When it comes to you and me, they’re pretty divided.”

“I can’t help but feel like we had something to do with that.” Steve’s eyes were tired, but his smile was impish and playful.

Tony scrutinized Steve, as if trying to figure him out for the hundredth time. “You can be a real smartass sometimes, Rogers.”

“I learned from the best.”

Now Tony was smiling, really smiling. Sure, he had a kind of pained look in his eyes, and yeah, he was also shaking his head, but Steve still counted it as a win. “Cheekiness is not a good look on you.” Steve’s own smile broadened. “Hey, I mean it. Don’t get familiar. I still haven’t forgiven you.”

With Tony’s final words, Steve felt as if a glass barrier had been erected between them, insurmountable and cold to the touch. Neither of them were smiling anymore.

Tony turned away and began to fiddle with the tablet, producing three images. He pointed to one, a picture of a young, dark-haired woman. “I’m going to find her,” Tony said, leaving no room for negotiation. “Melissa Santiago. Astronomy student from Iowa City. Brilliant, former high school valedictorian, you get the picture. Then we’ve got an news anchor in Cairo and a secretary in New York. Take your pick.”

“These are the new recruits?”

Tony shook his head. “I guess that’s a fitting term.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Drafting civilians to take part in a war they don’t even know is going on, calling them recruits? Very military, very Steve Rogers.”

“That’s not what this is.”

“Isn’t it? You know, I’d have an easier time buying the whole ‘honest man’ schtick if it were actually true. Why don’t you just admit that we’re all soldiers to you, Captain?”

Steve let his head fall forward, let his breath out stiff. “I thought we were working together this time. And I’m trying, Tony, I really am. If it’s not enough then… Then I guess I don’t know what to do.”

“Tell you what, Cap. You want to win my approval? Why don’t you prove me wrong. Prove to me you’re not the arrogant asshole I think you are.” Steve leaned on the desk, splaying his fingers wide and trusting the table to support his weight, as if bracing himself for what Tony was about to say. “Let me wield the gauntlet,” Tony said. His dark eyes didn’t waver; his voice had the resolute tone of a man who was certain of his own fate. “I heard you were planning to do it yourself, so I’m asking you to back off.”

Steve didn’t miss a beat. He knew it was coming, after all. “I’m not gonna let you do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’d kill you, Tony.”

“Drop the holier-than-you attitude. It’d kill you too.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Actually I do. You and I, we’re both human. And according to what we know, the two of us have the same chance of dying while trying to use the gauntlet. All I’m asking is for you to let me take that chance first. If I die, you can have at it.”

Steve didn’t know if he was surprised or impressed by Tony’s realism. “That’s a pretty dark take.”

“Everything’s fucking dark. In case you hadn’t noticed, the world is literally covered in ashes. Now are you gonna let me do this or what?” Moments earlier Tony had been an emotional wreck, not caring to conceal his anger and grief. Just like in Siberia, Tony let his emotions get the best of him. But now it seemed Tony had grown tired of the open confrontation. His breathing was heavy but even, his arms crossed but no longer balled into fists. His eyes were so clear and sharp and chipping away at Steve’s desire to argue.

“Okay,” Steve said.

Tony’s eyes widened in surprise. “Okay?”

“Okay. After we’ve killed Thanos, you will be the one to wield the gauntlet.”

“Huh. Either you’re more reasonable than I thought or you just backed down really easily.”

“Maybe you can’t teach an old dog to sit, but I still have a few tricks left up my sleeve.”

Tony had already turned his back to Steve. “It’s funny because you’re old,” he called over his shoulder as he walked away.

Steve looked around the lab, which he suddenly realized was empty. Even Bruce and Shuri had left, perhaps sensing an argument was about to ensue or perhaps expecting it.

He looked at the tablet, at the three smiling faces, completely innocent and unassuming. Steve wondered if their lives were going to be ruined, if ruining their lives was inevitable and if it would all be his fault. If he had a choice. If any of it even mattered.

He tapped on one of the images. Several more popped up, as well as captions, tweets, articles: a life summed up in clusters of information. All at Steve’s disposal.

 

★★★

 

Despite his best efforts, Steve just couldn’t fall asleep. He lay perfectly still in his Wakandan bed, trying to get rid of the thoughts that wouldn’t quit tormenting him. Until he was startled by a soft knock at his door.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“It’s Natasha. Can I come in?”

“Yeah.”

Natasha entered the room, wearing cotton pyjamas and a bathrobe. She traipsed over to Steve and flopped down next to him on the bed. Something about her demeanor was unnervingly peaceful. “Did I wake you?” she asked.

“No, I couldn’t sleep.”

“What’s wrong? Bed too soft?”

“No, just… thinking too much.”

“Yeah, me too. Then I decided to start drinking instead.”

Steve turned to Natasha, eyebrows raised. “Are you drunk?”

“Why? Are you judging me?”

“You kidding? I envy you.”

“If you wanna get drunk, can’t you just ask Thor for some of that Asgardian stuff?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“He said if he had any, he would have drunk it all himself.”

Natasha giggled. “Fuck,” she said. “That’s not supposed to be funny.”

Steve let out a chuckle. “No, it’s not.”

Natasha pulled the comforter over her body and nestled into the space where Steve’s shoulder met the wall. “So what’s got you down?” she asked with a concerned glance at Steve.

“Tony’s been giving me a rough time. He still hates my guts.”

“Sounds like the divorce has been tough for him.”

“You need to stop calling it that.”

“Why? Do you have a more accurate word?”

“How about ‘falling out’?”

“Not dramatic enough.”

“How about”—Steve smiled a little—“’civil war’?”

Natasha laughed. “Way too dramatic. Besides, weren’t you, like, in the Civil War?”

“How old do you think I am?”

Natasha only shrugged. Her drunken fogginess seemed to disappear for a moment. Natasha lifted her head and turned to Steve. Her chapped lips parted and she said in a hoarse voice, “Tony wouldn’t be mad if he didn’t really care.”

Again Steve looked at Natasha, wondering what could have prompted such an earnest observation. “Maybe you’re right,” he said. Maybe she was.

Natasha yawned then and balled the blanket up under her chin, snuggling her head against Steve. She pulled his arm around her neck and rested her cheek against his shoulder.

“Comfy?” Steve asked. She hummed in agreement.

Natasha closed her eyes. Her breathing evened out.

“Hey,” Steve said in a low voice, so as to not wake Natasha in case she had already fallen asleep.

“Hmm?” she replied without opening her eyes.

“Did you know I’m wildly unpopular?”

Natasha snickered against Steve’s arm, a breath of hot air against his skin. “Yeah, I read the papers,” she mumbled.

“Which papers?”

“All of them.”

“All the newspapers hate me?”

Natasha peered at Steve’s face through a half-open eye. “I thought you knew.”

“I guess I’m not as perceptive as I think I am.”

“I know a bunch of journalists and bloggers who would agree.”

“What else do they say?”

“That you’re a national disgrace.”

“Ouch.”

Natasha tightened her grip around Steve’s waist. “It’s not all bad. Lots of people see the good in you.” She smiled wider. “And they love your beard.”

Steve chuckled. “I can’t believe strangers have opinions about my beard.”

“Oh, they have very strong opinions.” She poked at his jaw. “I’m so glad we got ourselves dolled up for the apocalypse.”

Steve chuckled again.

 

This time Steve was completely sure Natasha was asleep. He was wrong.

“Hey Steve?” she asked.

“Yeah?”

“I was wondering… What do you want to do after? I mean, when all this is over.” Natasha didn’t sit up, she didn’t even raise her voice above a hoarse mumble, but it was clear to Steve she was completely serious. Despite being both sleep-drunk and regular-drunk, she had somehow entered a state of mind in which she wanted to have a meaningful conversation about the future. The trouble was, Steve didn’t have a good answer.

“I don’t know,” he said.” I’ve been so focused on defeating Thanos I guess I haven’t really thought about it. Besides, it would feel wrong to start planning for a future that might never happen.” Steve paused for a moment. He was debating whether or not to articulate the thought that had been plaguing him for weeks. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Natasha—on the contrary, Steve wasn’t sure if he could trust himself not to start spiraling. Because saying the words out loud might make them real. And even if they weren’t real, even if they would never become real, the very possibility tormented Steve, scared him more than any Titan ever could. “What if we lose again?”

Natasha held her breath. Steve got the sense she was trying to read him without even looking at him. Knowing her, Natasha probably picked up on his anguish just by a slightly tensed muscle, or a certain note in his voice. “Then we’ll all be dead,” she said eventually. “No use planning for that future, so we might as well plan for the other one.”

Steve couldn’t argue with that. Natasha’s blunt realism seemed to successfully stop Steve from worrying about the worst possible outcome. At least for now.

“I guess you’re right.” Steve closed his eyes.

“Well, duh.” Natasha shifted her position a little. “But you’re still avoiding the question. You don’t expect me to believe you’ve never thought about the future.”

“Of course I have. I just haven’t... figured anything out.”

“You don’t know what you wanna be when you grow up?”

Steve laughed. “No, I don’t.” He stroked Natasha’s hair absentmindedly. “What about you?”

Natasha was quiet for a moment. “I think I want to help reinstate S.H.I.E.L.D.”

Steve opened his eyes, suddenly wide awake. “You can’t be serious.”

“Why not?”

“What about HYDRA? What about S.H.I.E.L.D. getting infiltrated right under our noses?”

“HYDRA doesn’t exist anymore.”

“How can we be sure?”

By now both Steve and Natasha had sat up, all traces of sleepiness having disappeared.

“We can’t,” Natasha explained, “but we can protect ourselves against them, and other organizations like them. We’ll be careful. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, Steve, and I really think we can make it work.”

Steve threw up his hands. “I guess nothing I say would change your mind.”

Natasha gave a small smile. “I’m not exactly asking for your blessing.”

“Didn’t strike my mind that you would.”

Steve laid his arm around Natasha once again, who responded by leaning her head against his shoulder.

“I’m sure the new S.H.I.E.L.D. would love to have Captain America on the team,” Natasha said after a while. “Just something to think about.” Then she really did fall asleep.

 

★★★

 

When Steve woke up Natasha had already disappeared. He found her in the kitchen, eating toast and drinking coffee. Across from her sat Tony, whose stylish suit was slightly wrinkled but otherwise immaculate. In Tony’s hand was the tablet he had used to program Zola’s algorithm. He was pointing to a picture Steve recognized of a man with a dazzling smile.

“Who is he?” Natasha asked Tony.

“Ahmed Ganem. He’s one of the most famous news anchors in Egypt.”

“Why was he chosen by the algorithm?”

“Back in 2013 he tried to expose HYDRA during a live newscast. Apparently he’d figured it all out himself, but when he tried bringing it up to his superiors as a news story they weren’t having it. So he took matters into his own hands.” A video clip was playing on the tablet. Ganem was speaking rapidly. In one hand he held a photograph of Senator Stern, in the other hand a picture of Arnim Zola. On the screen, a couple of security guards appeared. Ganem struggled as the guards grabbed his arms and led him off the set. “After that,” Tony continued, “he was fired. They say he was delusional.”

“Doesn’t sound like HYDRA. HYDRA would’ve killed him, not discredited him.”

“Maybe they thought it was too big of a risk, him being a public figure and all.”

“Maybe.”

“Now this is where it gets good. The day after he was fired he disappeared. Went off the grid for years. Until a few weeks ago. He tweeted this on the fourteenth.”

Natasha picked up the tablet and read aloud. “‘I have lived in fear for a long time, and that fear won’t go away anytime soon. But I can no longer watch while the world burns. This is why I have returned: to tell you the truth. In exactly three days I will reveal the truth to you all.’ Then there’s a link.”

“Click on it.”

Natasha cast Tony a skeptical but curious glance. She clicked on the link. “It’s a countdown. 22 hours and 46 minutes. This is when he’s going to ‘reveal the truth’?” She frowned. “What does he know?”

Tony leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, as if to signal that he had already told Natasha everything he knew, that this was it. Natasha seemed to consider the task before her.

“We should leave as soon as possible, before the countdown ends. If he somehow knows about Thanos he could send the world into chaos. At least the parts of the world that still have internet.”

“Right. I’ll leave now, before Rogers shows up.” Tony stood up.

“Too late,” Steve said.

Tony spun around to face him. Natasha looked on with interest, hiding her smile behind the coffee cup in her hands. “This is awkward,” she murmured.

“No it’s not,” Tony said while giving a noncommittal shrug. He pushed back his shoulders and tilted his head back a little.

“Why would it be awkward?” Steve mirrored Tony’s posture. Natasha moved her eyes back and forth between them, as if she was were a spectator of the world’s most interesting pingpong match.

“We’re keeping it professional, aren’t we, Captain?”

“That’s right.”

With a perfectly neutral expression Tony walked toward Steve. “Good talk,” he said, and clapped Steve on the chest.

“Tame,” Natasha critiqued from behind her mug once Tony had left.

“What did you expect?” Steve picked a piece of bread out of a basket and started to butter it.

“Either a catfight or a heartfelt apology.”

Steve let out a breathy laugh. He didn’t meet Natasha’s eyes, just stared at his halfway buttered bread. “I’ve apologized plenty of times. I don’t have anything more to apologize for.”

“I know you don’t, Steve, but come on. Can’t you just be nice to each other?”

“Tony made it pretty clear he—”

“You need to stop blaming Tony for all of this. You have a responsibility too, you know.”

“I’ve tried talking to him.”

“Doesn’t look like you tried hard enough.”

“Well I did.” Steve pulled his plate closer.

“Uh-huh. And did you talk about your feelings?”

Steve looked up at Natasha, amused by her question. “Is this part of your catfight plan?”

“The catfight is plan B. Sure, it would be fun to watch, but I’d rather see you two get along. I’m rooting for you guys. Don’t disappoint me.”

Steve knitted his eyebrows in that pensive, sorrowful way of his.

“Hey, I don’t want to see any more of this petty shit.” Natasha stood up, and, with Tony’s tablet under her arm, made her way out of the kitchen. “Talk to each other,” she whispered in Steve’s ear before walking away.

Steve finished his breakfast quickly. He was totally prepared to fly the first jet he could find to New York City when he realized he was still in his pyjamas.

 

★★★

 

Steve stood before the door to apartment 14 for several seconds, wondering how the hell he was going to explain to a civilian why half of the world’s population had disappeared, and why he and his superhero friends had failed so spectacularly at stopping the alien who made it happen. Suddenly Steve’s plea for help didn’t seem so straightforward.

Nevertheless, Steve took a deep breath and knocked on the door, which was opened almost immediately. A woman in her thirties peered up at Steve. Her eyes were almost hidden beneath her black hair. She left the door open only a crack, apparently having no intention of inviting Steve inside.

“Are you Amanda Rosenberg?” Steve asked her with as much confidence as he could muster. “My name is Steve Rogers, and I’d like to speak with you about a project a few colleagues and I are working on.”

Steve could tell from the look on Amanda’s face that he sounded just as insane as he thought. But then something changed. Amanda’s eyes widened and she quickly pulled a cell phone out of her pocket. Her fingers typed the words captain america into a search engine. Several images of Steve popped up. Amanda zoomed in on a rather unflattering picture of Steve taken after the Battle of New York and held up her phone next to Steve’s face. Her eyes narrowed.

“You’re Captain America!” she exclaimed finally.

“You can call me Steve.”

Amanda let her hand fall to her side. She no longer seemed defensive, only bewildered. “What are you doing here?”

“It’s a pretty long story. Can I come inside?”

Amanda stepped aside and gestured for Steve to enter the modest apartment. He followed the young woman to her living room, a sparsely decorated space. Steve sat down on a couch. He decided to start from the beginning.

 

When he had finished speaking, Amanda appeared a little overwhelmed. To her credit, she seemed to understand the gravity of the situation. Steve waited for her reaction. Amanda chewed on a fingernail.

“You’re saying you want me to help you save the universe? Bring back all the people who disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“And you found me by using an algorithm created by an evil organization called HYDRA?”

“Yes.”

Amanda stopped biting her nail and started rubbing her hand together instead. She looked unhappy. “I can’t help you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t know what to do. I’m not a superhero. I’m a secretary at an insurance company.”

“The algorithm must have targeted you for a reason.”

“I can’t think of one.”

Steve studied Amanda, her scrunched up eyebrows and her fidgeting hands, and wondered how HYDRA, or anyone else for that matter, could see her as a threat. His impression of Amanda was that she was a quiet woman. Intelligent and careful: not the sort of person who would throw themself headfirst into a battle, or start a fight they knew they couldn’t win. A person who went through life without taking risks or causing trouble. Steve wondered why the algorithm had targeted her.

“I would like to help you, Steve. But I don’t think that I can.”

“Maybe you’re right. Or maybe you have some kind of hidden skill that could turn out to be useful.”

“You think so?”

“It’s possible.”

Amanda must have been holding her breath because she proceeded to let out a deep sigh. She cradled her head in her hands. “This is very… overwhelming,” she said.

“I understand it’s a difficult decision to make. Let me put it like this: we need all the help we can get. You’re welcome to come with me to Wakanda, but I want to make sure that you know how dangerous the situation is—”

“I don’t care about that.” Amanda grinned. “I have good health insurance.”

Steve looked up in surprise. Maybe he had misjudged Amanda. Maybe she and he were more similar than Steve had first thought. “I’m not sure your insurance company will cover an alien attack,” he replied with a smile.

“Oh, it will. I work for SuperDex Insurance. Have you heard of it?”

Steve couldn’t quite place the name. “I’m not sure,” he said.

“Well, we were the first company to include supernatural occurences in our insurance packages. We’ve become quite successful.”

“I can imagine.”

Amanda watched Steve with curiosity. “You and your friends have caused my company to gain a huge profit.” Steve didn’t know how to respond. Amanda didn’t seem to expect an answer anyway. “At the moment things at work are a bit chaotic,” she continued. “But I guess my colleagues will have to survive without me.”

“Are you saying that you want to join us?”

“Yes. I’m not sure I’ll be any help at all, but I will join you.”

 

★★★

 

The jet’s roaring engines were a bit too loud for Steve’s comfort, but Amanda didn’t seem to mind. She had remained calm and quiet ever since they had left her apartment in New York City. She hadn’t even complained when Steve had flown the jet through a particularly turbulent patch of air.

“Are you worried?” Steve asked when the jet had stopped shaking.

“About what?”

“Anything. Any of this.” Steve turned to look at her. He spoke in a soft voice, trying to sound sincere. “I know I would be.”

Amanda met Steve’s gaze with a raised eyebrow. “Didn’t you voluntarily get yourself injected with an experimental super serum just so could join the army?”

Steve chuckled. “Alright, you got me. I guess I’m not the worrying type.”

Amanda turned away, smiling. She seemed pleased to have called Steve on his bullshit.

“What about you?” Steve asked. “Are you the worrying type?”

“Not really.”

“Your not afraid of Thanos, or his army?”

Amanda grinned. “People get their houses blown up by supervillains pretty regularly nowadays. This Thanos guy doesn’t intimidate me. The way I see it, he’s just the most recent name on a long list of bad guys.”

“Just another big bully.”

“Exactly.”

Steve smiled now too, but when he turned back to look at Amanda, he noticed she wasn’t facing him anymore. She was staring at the sky with a kind of far-away look in her eye.

“I’m not scared, or worried. Not really. But now that I’m a part of this… this project, I feel like I have something to prove. Does that make sense?” Steve nodded slowly. “I mean, I was chosen, sort of. I just hope I can actually be of use. Do you really think I might have something to offer?”

“I’ve found that it’s not always about strength, or having some kind of ability. It’s about who you are, not what you have. I think there’s a chance you might have something to offer, even if you don’t know what it is yet.”

“That’s not a yes.”

“It’s not a no.”

“I guess that’s good enough.”


	6. Chapter 6

When Tony arrived at the secluded cottage on the Norwegian coast, his first thought was _fuck_. The cottage stood out amongst the gray clouds and gray sea and gray rocks—it was the only building, or in fact, the only object in sight. Tony walked toward the house, freezing in his stylish summer suit. A strong gust of wind erupted, picking up the curtains which fluttered violently in and out of the open windows. The front door banged open just as Tony was about to knock, nearly smacking into his shoulder. Luckily, Tony avoided being struck by the unlocked door by jumping out of the way just in time. He peered through the open doorway. 

The inside of the cottage was not unaffected by the winds: dozens of loose notebook pages were lifted off of desks and countertops and carried around the room. One particularly rebellious piece of paper drifted toward Tony, who was able to catch the paper before it disappeared out the door. He held the page tightly as it struggled to break free of his grasp. Most people would have failed to decipher the tiny, untidy letters that filled the page, but even before he read them and understood their meaning, Tony understood their importance. He recognized the smudged words and messy scribbles that accompanied a scientific epiphany. As he read through the hastily written equations, Tony knew that this was good. This was it.

“Melissa Santiago?” Tony called. When no answer came, he raised his voice. “Hello?”

Tony stepped into the cottage, closing the door behind him. He hastened over to the windows. Once they were closed and all of the papers had settled down on the floor, Tony turned around to inspect the carnage. The damage caused by the wind appeared worse than it really was, due to how messy the space was to begin with. Tony wasn’t quite sure what sort of room it was supposed to be. Against one wall stood a couch, opposite was a large desk covered with several miscellaneous items such as notebooks, a birdcage and potted plants, both dead and alive. Upon closer inspection, every surface in the tiny cottage seemed to be littered with books and various scientific instruments, turning even the kitchen and the bathroom into makeshift offices. Melissa Santiago was a genius, for sure, albeit a very disorganized one.

As Tony collected the scattered pages, idly picking up a few phrases and fragments of equations—he noticed mass was mentioned several times—he couldn’t help but become worried. The open door and windows gave Tony the impression that the house had been abandoned quite suddenly. He tried to think of the possible reasons why Melissa Santiago may have abandoned her house and her research. One particular event stood out in his mind. Tony wondered if his algorithm had been incorrect, if it was possible that Melissa had disappeared along with the others, but quickly rejected the idea. Doubting his calculations was ludicrous. There must be another explanation.

He left the cottage and walked in the direction of the ocean. As he neared the cliff, Tony heard indiscernible shouts: two raised voices communicating excitedly.

Tony looked over the cliff at the rocky shore below, where two women were standing around a large machine. He found a narrow path embedded in the stone and began to make his way down to the shore.

“The signal’s too weak,” one of the women—the shorter one with long, reddish hair flying about in the wind—was saying when Tony was about halfway down the path. “We need to go further west.”

“You mean into the ocean?” the other woman yelled. She wiped at the machine with a towel, in order to dry off the spray from the waves crashing against the rock.

“Maybe we can get a boat.”

“Even if we could, the waves are too big. It’s not safe.”

“Then we need to move to a higher altitude. Here, we can lift it onto this boulder.”

The two women lifted the heavy-looking machine into the air. Suddenly a laptop, which seemed to be built into the machine, began to beep.

“It’s working!” the tall, black-haired woman exclaimed.

“Lift it higher!” the other woman shouted.

Then they lifted the machine higher, and held it in place until numbers appeared on the computer screen. Both women fell silent. They set down the machine and crowded around the screen.

Tony had reached the bottom of the cliff, although the two scientists were too preoccupied to notice him. He stepped closer to them. The wind had died down a little; only the sea and its waves remained as noisy as ever.

The scientists had their backs to Tony, leaning over the machine and basking in the results of whatever discovery they had just made.

“That’s it,” the first woman said.

“There it is,” the other woman agreed.

“Where is what?” Tony asked.

The women spun around, understandably startled by the sudden appearance of Tony Stark. The short one lunged to pick up a rock, then held it high and shouted “Stand back! Don’t get any closer!”

Tony stopped walking and raised his hands. “Sorry about the surprise entrance, but you can drop your… weapon. I just want to talk.”

The tall woman squinted at Tony. “Are you,” she said “Tony Stark?”

“That’s right.”

“Wait, _the_ Tony Stark?” the woman who was still holding a rock in her hand asked.

“Yeah, I know, I’m Iro—”

“You’re he guy who invented the Multi-Isotope Radio-Decay Cell.”

“Yeah, I’m that guy.” The description had startled Tony a little. Most people saw Iron Man as a symbol of power and strength, not a display of groundbreaking technology. But to this scientist, he wasn’t only the genius billionaire, he was the genius inventor. It felt nice. Tony instantly liked her, despite the fact that she was still holding the rock she had threatened to throw at him.

“Can we see it?” the other scientist asked.

“What? An arc reactor?”

Tony considered removing his suit and shirt in the freezing cold air, but decided against it. “Maybe later.”

The woman seemed disappointed and a little bored. She turned around, once again focusing her attention on the machine.

Tony remembered his mission. Not that he had forgotten it, he had just been momentarily distracted. “Are either of you Melissa Santiago?”

The dark-haired woman whipped around to face Tony, no longer bored but suspicious. “How do you know my name?” she asked. “And how did you find me?”

“It’s a long story,” Tony replied. “Actually, I think the story is related to your work.” He nodded at the machine.

“How?”

“Do you remember a few weeks ago, when a bunch of people turned to dust? A guy named Thanos did that. He’s a Titan who just fulfilled his life’s goal of wiping out half the universe.”

“Thanos.” The short woman said, almost a whisper. Tony almost mistook the name for a breath of air. “Thanos,” she said again, much louder this time. “He’s the one who caused the Chitauri invasion in New York. That wasn’t Loki, it was Loki working for Thanos.”

Tony stepped forward, eyebrows furrowed, rubbing his chin. “How do you know that?”

“Thor told me.”

“How do you know Thor?”

“I hit him with my car. Twice. Then we dated. I had to break up with him, though. He kept disappearing off to Asgard.”

“You’re Jane Foster.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Okay great.” Tony tried to wrap his head around the strange situation that he had gotten himself into. Well, that Cap had gotten him into. “So how do you two know each other?”

“I’m a graduate student,” Melissa Santiago explained. “This research is part of my thesis.”

“Which is?”

“Displaced mass as proof of the existence of an incorporeal essence in human beings and other lifeforms.”

Tony paused for a second. “You’re saying,” he began, slowly, on the verge of incredulity, “that souls exist.”

“Basically, yes.”

Why was he even surprised?

“What do you mean by ‘displaced mass’?”

“When the people disappeared, their bodies disintegrated and became—”

“I know, you can skip that part,” Tony said through gritted teeth. He closed his fists, trying not to imagine dust crumbling, seeping through his fingers.

“—but the molecular structure of the ash looks nothing like that of oxidized organic material.”

Caught up in his mind’s newest rendition of Peter disintegrating—a bad dream on repeat, it seemed—Tony wasn’t sure if he had heard Santiago correctly. “Sorry, what?”

“My friend Erik Selvig was visiting me. We were talking and the he just…” Foster didn’t finish her sentence. Of course, she didn’t need to. “I tried to figure out what had happened. I knew he would have wanted me to find out, so I did some experiments. When I studied—” she paused to take a shaky breath, "—when I studied the ash I knew something didn’t add up. Something had disrupted the intramolecular bonds, creating a completely new chemical substance.”

“I conducted similar experiments,” Santiago continued, “and I happened to make the same discovery as Jane. Then I heard the rumors about Jane’s ad.”

Before Tony could ask, Foster addressed the question that was on his mind. “I wanted to repeat the experiment, so I put out an ad asking for the ashes of people who had disappeared. The trouble was, not a lot of people responded.”

“But I did,” Santiago continued. “And we conducted several more experiments together. We realized that all molecular bonds in living organisms are maintained due to quantum entanglement with duplicates of each molecule that only exist on the quantum level. ”

“Basically, for each atom in our body there exists a corresponding atom in the quantum realm. These duplicate atoms are essential to all life, which is why we call them souls. Normally the souls are untraceable, but when they became detached from their hosts they began to exist on the macro level,” Foster said.

“And when the souls started existing in the macro realm they suddenly had mass,” Tony said, now caught up in the excitement.

“Exactly!” Foster exclaimed, her eyes were practically sparkling.

“We call the mass of the souls ‘displaced mass’. And we realized that since the mass isn’t here, the souls must have gone somewhere, exist somewhere in the universe,” Santiago said, matching Foster's almost giddy excitement.

“So you built this machine.” Tony continued. “You’re trying to locate the souls.”

“Actually,” Santiago said with a grin, “we’ve nearly succeeded.”

She motioned for Tony to take a look at the computer screen.

“This is where the souls are,” Tony stated, deadpan. He couldn’t tear his eyes off the screen.

Foster nodded. “At least, it’s the general direction. The problem is, we don’t know how far away the souls are situated.”

“That is a problem. It’ll be impossible to get there until we know how far away it is,” Tony said.

Jane Foster and Melissa Santiago exchanged looks.

“You want to go there?” Foster asked. She spoke in the slow, overly-enunciated voice one might use with a moron or a madman. Nothing Tony Stark hadn’t heard before.

“Oh, it’s not just me. There’s lots of us.” Morons and madmen. “Actually, we’re a team.”

“And let me guess, you want us to be a part of it?”

“What do you say?”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Tony looked from Foster to Santiago to the homemade soul-detecting device. A light rain had begun to fall, or maybe it had been falling for a while.

“I think you’re gonna love Wakanda,” Tony said. “The tech is amazing. Groundbreaking really.”

The three of them hurried to the Quinjet, with Foster and Santiago somehow carrying the gigantic machine on the narrow path, all while asking a million questions.

 

Five hours later the trio was getting close to Wakanda. The scientists had very enthusiastically explained the workings of their machine. Of course, in return they wanted to know all about the war against Thanos, and the plan that had somehow gotten them mixed up it. Having explained everything as thoroughly as possible, Tony eventually discovered a question of his own.

“Hey, Foster. Any idea why the algorithm didn’t choose you?”

Dr Foster blushed. “I might’ve tweeted some things… about Thor.”

Tony laughed. Just as he was about to respond, he was interrupted by a flashing light on the display: an incoming call from Natasha Romanoff. Tony responded.

“Hey Tony. Just checking in. Where are you right now?” Natasha asked. She was tapping her foot in a restless manner.

“About an hour away. You?”

“I’m at the palace.”

“And Rogers?”

“Close. He might be here a few minutes earlier than you.”

“Did you find Ganem?”

“I did. Did you find Santiago?”

“Better.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Tony smirked. He imagined showing up to the palace with Foster and Santiago, living proof that his algorithm had worked. Tony hadn’t spent much time with Bruce or Shuri, but it seemed as if their research had reached a bit of a standstill. Foster and Santiago would bring them out of their slump. And everyone else would be excited to get one step closer to Thanos, especially Rogers.

“You’ll see,” Tony replied, intending to keep her in suspense.

“I’m glad your mission was such a success.” Natasha didn’t sound pleased, much less excited.

“Your’s wasn’t?”

Natasha frowned. “You’ll have to see for yourself.”

“But you found him, right? The news anchor?”

“Yeah, he’s here.” Natasha turned to look over her shoulder. She seemed on edge, and Tony couldn’t figure out why. “Look, Tony, I’m not sure about this guy. I made the call to bring him here anyway. He has some interesting theories.”

“What do you mean by interesting theories?”

“Like I said, you’ll understand when you get here,” Natasha said, still distracted. Then: “I have to go.”

She ended the call abruptly, leaving Tony in the dark.

 

★★★

 

When they arrived at the palace, Melissa Santiago, Jane Foster and Tony Stark were met by the formidable Dora Milaje, or what was left of them. The guards said nothing as they led the group through the palace and into Shuri’s lab. Not unexpectedly, the room was packed: just about everyone had come together to attend the big reveal, the team’s first encounter with their saviors. Or at least that’s how Tony thought of it. But everyone else seemed less enthusiastic. Either Romanoff and Roger’s lack of flair had killed the mood, or something was wrong. Tony turned his attention to the man who was speaking in the center of the room.

“And then, “ he was saying, “I realized all of these people had to be working for the same organization. The same organization that was founded by Johann Schmidt.”

“So you discovered HYDRA,” Tony said, loud enough to turn some heads. “I’m not gonna lie, that’s pretty impressive.” Now everyone was looking at him. He strode forward, stopped in the middle of the room, a dozen pairs of eyes following his movement. He had the spotlight, the attention, but now what? Something felt off; Bruce shook his head slightly, Shuri crossed her arms, Natasha gave one of her inscrutable looks. There was something Tony didn’t know and he hated not knowing it. Scanning his eyes over the room, Tony found Rogers standing in the back with Rosenberg. He gave a slight nod. _Go ahead_ , is what he meant.

Tony faced Ahmed Ganem. “How did you find out about HYDRA?”

“I dug up information, connected the dots.”

“Where did you get your information?”

“High-level HYDRA operatives. I stole files from right under their noses.”

“How? They’re not exactly the kind to just leave stuff lying around. They’re secretive, they’re careful.”

“Not around me. They didn’t take me seriously enough to consider me a threat.”

Tony started pacing, circling Ganem like a boxer in a ring. “Why have you stayed off the grid all this time? Why didn’t you resurface when HYDRA was shut down?”

Ganem shook his head vigorously. “It’s not just HYDRA that’s trying to kill me. It’s all of them!”

“Who’s them?”

“They’re trying to stop me from uncovering the truth. From exposing them.”

“Is this the same ‘truth’ you’re gonna tweet about in a few hours? Because—”

“But the world needs to know! I’m the only one who can save you!” Ganem shouted, spinning around to face the members of the ragtag team, who seemed quite unimpressed by the notion of being killed by some anonymous secret organization. Tony was growing impatient. He wanted desperately to get to the point.

“Who the hell are you talking about?”

“The lizard people!”

Oh.

Tony sighed, shook his head.

“Natasha, a word?”

“Hey man, we have questions, too,” Rhodey announced as he made his way toward Tony. “Lots of questions.” He glanced at Natasha—in fact, at this point everyone was looking at Natasha, who seemed pretty much unaffected.

“Right. You—yes, you with the tinfoil hat, would you mind waiting outside for a sec? Don’t worry, we’re just gonna talk about you in excruciating detail.” Tony sighed at Ganem’s protests. “Can someone get him out of here?”

Once Ganem had been led outside by two Dora Milaje, Tony turned to Natasha.

“That guy is insane,” Tony stated.

“I know that,” Natasha replied coolly.

Rhodey stepped forward. “I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand why you would bring a crazy person to our save-the-universe club.”

“He had some ideas I thought you might want to hear.”

“What, about lizard people? This guy probably thinks I’m part of the Illuminati, too,” Tony added.

“He does actually.” Natasha lifted her chin, smiling ever so slightly.

“So he’s a conspiracy theorist,” Steve said, “who sometimes gets it right?”

Natasha gave a short nod. “My evaluation is that he’s capable of making connections most people wouldn’t notice. Most of the time it’s bullshit, but then there’s stuff like this.”

Natasha handed a flash drive to Shuri, who plugged it into a hologram projector. A bluish image appeared in the middle of the lab, a cube floating just above their heads.

“Basically, he thinks the Infinity Stones can be stripped of their power for a short time. All of his evidence is based on old HYDRA experiments on the Tesseract.”

Shuri appeared to be reading the contents of the flash drive off a small screen. “I believe this information is correct,” she said, her eyes darting quickly back and forth across the screen. “When an Infinity Stone is in use it draws energy from its host. However, providing the Stone with an alternate, more powerful energy source could render the Stone useless to its host until the other source has been drained.”

Bruce nodded vigorously in agreement. “But the Stones consume more megajoules a second than we have to offer. I mean, we can’t exactly hook the gauntlet up to a nuclear reactor. If we wanted the Stones to stop using Thanos as a host, we’d need an incredibly efficient, portable energy source.”

“I might have something like that,” Tony said.

A dozen pairs of eyes turned to stare at Tony’s chest, where the arc reactor under his shirt seemed to glow more brightly than usual.

Dr Foster stepped forward, next to Tony. “A strong electromagnet like an arc reactor could provide all six Stones with energy for almost thirty minutes.”

“Sufficient time to pierce Thanos’ skull with a dagger,” Nebula muttered.

“Uh, who are you?” Bruce asked, ignoring Nebula’s comment.

“You must be Melissa Santiago,” Rogers said.

Santiago cleared her throat loudly. “No, that would be me.”

“And you are?” Shuri asked Foster.

“Jane,” said Thor.

“Thor.” Jane gave a polite nod. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“Yes, it’s nice to see you, too.”

An awkward pause ensued, during which Rocket could be observed taking interest in the mass detection machine Foster and Santiago had hauled into the lab.

“Hey, don’t touch that,” Tony said in a warning tone.

“I was just looking,” Rocket snarled.

“What is it?” Shuri asked.

“It’s a piece of junk if you ask me,” Rocket replied, eyeing the haphazardly put together scientific instrument.

“Hey! We built this ourselves from scratch and—”

Dr Foster was interrupted by Santiago, who placed a calming hand on her mentor’s shoulder. “It calculates the direction in which the souls that disappeared from Earth traveled after the… incident.”

“You mean all of the souls traveled to the same place when everyone turned to dust?” Bruce asked, electing to ignore the crazy notion of souls and just go with it.

“Yes,” Santiago replied, “in fact, they are concentrated to a very small area.”

Nebula nodded. “The Soul Stone.”

“That’s amazing.” Bruce began to pace, worked up by the implications of the new discovery. Shuri, on the other hand, was focused on typing rapidly. “We’ve been researching the Stones’ radiation and we were able to calculate the distance between us and the gauntlet.”

“So now that we know the direction and the distance…” Foster continued, matching Bruce’s excitement.

“... we can figure out where Thanos is.”

Just as Bruce finished speaking, the holographic image of the Tesseract disappeared, only to be replaced by that of a large sphere surrounded by several smaller spheres.

“This is the star E4J13 and this—” the hologram zoomed in on one of the smaller, purple spheres, ”—this is where Thanos is. The planet does not yet have a name—”

“Yeah it does,” Rocket interjected. “That’s Barmesh. I heard the people there died of oxygen poisoning.”

Shuri continued to type, producing several rows of numbers and words alongside the holographic image in clusters of information.

“The planet in question is a rocky planet about ten times bigger than Earth. The atmosphere is composed of 91 % carbon dioxide and 5 % oxygen and appears to be stable. It seems the only indigenous inhabitants are bacteria.”

“So big, purple and soulless?” Tony said. “Sounds about right.”

“Is the atmosphere safe?” Nebula asked.

“It appears so,” Shuri replied. “Not breathable for humans, but likely nontoxic.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Rocket grumbled. “It’s 2000 jumps away. It’s not safe to make that many jumps and we don’t have enough fuel anyway.”

“Wong, can’t you take us there with your magic portals?” Rhodey asked.

“Unfortunately, no. Opening portals such a great distance apart could thin the barriers between dimensions, potentially opening our dimension to creatures like Dormammu who wish to conquer our universe.”

“Inviting an all-powerful being to take over the universe is exactly what we don’t wanna do,” Tony added.

“I can take us there,” Thor chimed in. He lifted his new axe into the air. “Stormbreaker has the ability to summon the bifrost.”

“You mean an Einstein-Rosen Bridge,” Foster said.

Rocket rolled his eyes. “You mean a wormhole.”

“Which is?” Rogers asked.

Thor, Foster and Rocket replied all at once.

“A rainbow bridge.”

“A structure connecting separate points in spacetime.”

“Jesus, this guy’s an idiot.”

Tony took a deep breath and said, quietly, “It’s a shortcut between two places in space.”

Rogers gave a short nod in Tony’s direction, then stepped forward, facing the whole group. “The way I see it we now know where to find Thanos, we know how to get there, and we know how to cut off his source of power. I think we should make our move soon, in case Thanos decides to relocate.”

“The Space Stone will likely warn him of our arrival, once we are in the vicinity,” Nebula said.

“How close does the arc reactor have to be to the gauntlet in order to become the Stones’ primary energy source?” Tony asked.

“About 20 meters,” Jane said after a short pause.

“35 meters,” Shuri stated.

Dr Foster glanced at Shuri, then turned back to Tony. “20 to 35 meters.”

Tony nodded. “Then lets land as close as possible to Thanos, take him out right away.”

“It won’t be that simple,” Nebula countered. “He will have a large army to protect him.”

Rhodey had been listening intently, brow low and arms folded over his chest. “I say we go into orbit as far away as possible and hope the Space Stone doesn’t alert Thanos. Then we pounce.”

“Thanos will try to use all of the Stones in order to stop us,” Rogers said. “We’ll need to get an arc reactor to him quickly.”

Bruce’s excitement had eased, replaced by worry yet again. “No offence, Tony, but I don’t think that’s gonna be enough.” He nodded at the arc reactor glowing steadily under Tony’s shirt.

“Don’t worry, I’ll build a new one, extra-large.”

Shuri smiled a little. “At least ten gigavolts, I hope.”

“You got it, princess.”

Rogers cleared his throat. “Once Tony’s gotten the reactor within 35 meters of Thanos, we’ll have a thirty-minute timeframe to destroy his army, remove the gauntlet and get—”

“And kill Thanos.” Nebula directed her intense gaze at the floor. Tony assumed she was picturing driving a dagger through Thanos’ skull in the way she had described so often.

“Yes, and kill Thanos. Thirty minutes is a pretty short time to achieve all that. We need to work together and fight hard if we’re going to win this war.”

“Yes,” Thor said, clutching his axe and smiling. “And I’m confident we’ll succeed.”

Not everyone shared Thor’s confidence, as was apparent from the many worried faces. Bruce however seemed invigorated by Thor’s optimism. “Yeah,” he said, nodding. “I think I can do it this time. I think I can get the Hulk to come out.”

Thor’s smile broadened. He clapped Bruce on the back. “Good for you.”

“Once we have the gauntlet,” Tony began, “how much of Thanos’ temper tantrum can I undo before our dimension starts getting, you know, torn apart?”

Wong paused for a moment. “It’s hard to say. Bringing people to life will inevitably destabilize our dimension, due to the disruption in spacetime. You should not make any changes farther back in time than one day.” Tony nodded slowly. Wong continued: “Now, reuniting the souls housed in the Soul Stone with their bodies will be relatively simple. But collecting the souls that have passed into other dimensions will disrupt all matter in our universe. It cannot be done more than once, so you need to think carefully about which people to bring back. After you have used the gauntlet for this purpose, you cannot reverse or repeat the action.”

Nebula snapped into attention. “Gamora.”

“Vision,” said Steve.

“Loki and Heimdall,” Thor added.

“Our warriors,” Okoye said.

“Alright, looks like all the revival spots have been taken,” Tony said.

Another silence ensued, during which several people bowed their heads in reverence to the victims who had had the bad luck of coming across Thanos too soon to have their fates reversed. Tony hadn’t even heard of Thanos until a few weeks ago, and yet he couldn’t avoid feeling responsible for the harm Thanos had caused playing god.

“Captain Rogers, I understand that you would like to set off for Barmesh as soon as possible,” Shuri began, “but we will need some time to prepare our army and develop breathing masks for us humans. And I believe Mr Stark will need time to build the arc reactor as well.”

“It should take a couple hours, tops,” Tony said.

Okoye, who had been standing stoically behind Shuri, spear in hand, took a step forward. “I will need 24 hours to prepare the army.” She bowed her head. “We are not as provident as we once were.”

Some members of the group exchanged glances. Tony could tell from their somber looks that a few people were coming to terms with the idea of death. The rest, the calm and the resolute, had either accepted their fate long ago or were choosing not to dwell on it. Tony, of course, was of the accepting kind. But the feeling of time running out affected him all the same. Suddenly an invisible hourglass had appeared above his head, and the bottom chamber was rapidly filling with sand.

As the Wakandans and ex-Avengers began filing out of the lab, Tony was approached by Queen Shuri.

“You are, of course, welcome to use my lab for the construction of your arc reactor.”

Tony must have been looking more haggard than he felt, because Shuri tried for a small, strained smile. It pained Tony to think that this young woman, who had been through hell and back, was trying to protect his feelings.

“Sure,” Tony said, trying to sound cheerful and almost succeeding. “It shouldn’t take long, not with all this advanced equipment.” Tony picked up a panther-shaped object. “Seriously, what is this thing?”

Shuri broke into a grin, much broader than her previous forced smile. “It’s a vibranium gauntlet. It can shoot sonic energy.”

Tony pulled the gauntlet over his hand. He moved his arm around and found it was surprisingly light.

“I’m guessing you made this.”

“I did.”

“It’s cool. Very cool.”

Tony pretended to aim the weapon at Shuri. He mimicked the sound of an explosion.

Shuri grinned and shook her head. “This isn’t an Iron Man missile. It won’t make that sound.”

“Right, because of the sonic energy.” Tony took off the gauntlet, scrutinized it. “So it’s not really a weapon, it’s more of a stun gun.”

“No, it’s definitely a weapon.”

“I don’t believe you. Here, why don’t you show me.”

Tony handed Shuri the gauntlet.

“You want me to shoot you?”

“Yeah, why not? Nothing’s gonna happen.”

“It will hurt. A lot,” Shuri warned, but there was laughter in her voice.

“Come on, try me,” Tony said, patting his chest. He stood up straight.

“If you say so.”

Shuri aimed the gun, and fired. Tony fell backwards. He felt as if a battering ram had hit him in the solar plexus.

Shuri rushed to his side. “Mr Stark, are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Tony wheezed. He struggled to his knees and stood up slowly, grabbing a table for support. “That’s a pretty powerful weapon.”

Shuri’s smile returned. “That was the lowest setting.”

Tony clapped his chest, letting out another wheeze. “Be careful with that.”

Once the effects of the sonic blast had worn off, Tony spun around to take in the rest of Shuri’s technology.

“I love this lab. Lots of great stuff. And much nicer than a cave.”

Shuri raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask Tony to explain.

“Right,” Tony said, straightening out his suit. “I’ll be right back, I just need to make a phone call first.”

Then Tony stepped out of the lab, leaving Shuri to tinker with her inventions. As he walked, Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket. The phone, a product of his own design, was a bit too buggy. As he tried to open the contacts app, the screen suddenly, but predictably, turned black. Tony wasn’t sure what made the phone act up but he had a hunch. Even though his hunch was probably right, there was no way to fix the problem now and the phone was effectively useless.

Tony entered his bedroom, closing the door firmly. He stepped in front of the full-length mirror, unbuttoned his shirt to reveal the arc reactor he had built into the T-shirt beneath. He could feel it now—he could always feel it, the electricity humming, waiting, the metal pressing against his chest where the scars ran deep. Knots twisting over his skin. _Like the roots of a tree_ , Pepper had once said.

Tony prodded the reactor with his fingertips. He watched as the armor spread out all around him, over his suit, his hands, his face. Once the helmet had materialized fully and fabulously Tony was greeted like an old friend.

“Welcome back, sir.”

“Thanks, F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“I hope you’re not going to use the armor today. The missiles, suture spray and coolant all need to be restocked.”

“I’ll do that later. Right now I just want to call Pepper.”

“Calling Pepper Potts.”

For a few seconds, all Tony heard were low beeps. And then: “Tony?”

“Hey, honey. How are you?”

“Why are you calling? Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s fine, don’t worry.”

“I thought you weren’t gonna call unless there was an emergency.”

“I know but I really missed you.”

“I miss you, too.”

“Is reception still down?”

“Yeah, I’m using the sunglasses you gave me. I wish I could see you though. Don’t these glasses have that hologram image thing?”

“Holographic imaging, yeah. Just ask F.R.I.D.A.Y.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., could you show me Tony please?”

“Sure thing, Ms Potts,” F.R.I.D.A.Y. chirped.

“Can you see me now?” Tony asked.

Pepper didn’t answer. Instead she gasped. “Oh my God, Tony are you in the suit? What are you—”

“Hey Pep, Pep, calm down.” When Pepper didn’t calm down, he continued. “I’m just wearing the suit to talk to you. My phone just died. Really.”

Pepper let out a shuddering breath.

“Okay now?” Tony asked.

“No, you scared me! I thought you were on a mission or something, even though you said—”

“Yeah, about that…”

“What? You said this was Cap’s thing, remember? You said you were just gonna do some tech stuff.”

“I know, but something came up.”

“What do you mean something came up? You said you would stay out of it.”

“Well I can’t just stay out of it. This is my fight. It has to be me.”

“It is so not your fight!” An exasperated little noise. Then a pause. “You can’t be the only one who can do whatever it is you’re gonna do.”

“Well I am.”

“Why do I have a hard time believing that? I mean, can’t Cap do it? Or Thor, or anyone who’s not you?”

“No, we discussed it.”

“You discussed it?”

“Yeah, we had a group discussion.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Look Pepper, I mean it. It’s gotta be me.”

“Shit, I just can’t believe you’re putting me through this again.”

Tony was silent for a long time.

“Tony, are you still there?”

“I’m sorry. For this. For everything. I wish...” Tony locked his eyes on the camera and imagined Pepper’s face looking back at him. “I wish it was different. I wish I didn’t have to hurt you—”

“Then don’t. Come back, Tony. Let’s get married. Let’s have a kid. I thought that was what you wanted.”

Tony closed his eyes briefly. “It is. I want all those things you just said.” But one life won’t make up for the millions of others. “But I can’t have them yet. There’s something I have to do first.”

Pepper sighed. “You promised me you weren’t gonna fight anymore, what, was that just a lie?”

“No, after this I’m done, okay? After this it’s all gonna be over.”

And one way or another, it was true.

“Okay.” Tony imagined Pepper nodding. “But how do I know this time’s gonna be the last?”

“Because I’d never let anything happen to our kid. I’m gonna be there for her.”

“Her?” Pepper’s voice was so soft.

“Our daughter. In my head she’s pretty awesome. I just don’t want her to be born in a world where half the population’s been wiped out. You know, the kind of world where scumbags like Thanos win.”

“Okay.”

“What?”

“Okay. Go do your thing. Save the world again. And when you’re done _come home_.”

Tony paused, maybe a little too long.

“Right.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

And then Pepper had to deal with some Relief Foundation thing, and then the call was over, and then she was gone.

Tony removed the suit. The nanotech armor rippled down his arms, his legs.

For the millionth time Tony pictured the hypothetical future with the hypothetical kid. _Pepper can still have that_ , he thought. _She will. She’ll get over me and then she’ll get the life she deserves._

Tony turned to leave the room but paused for a moment by the door. He clutched the doorknob with one hand, pressed his other palm against the wall. He was expecting something to happen, was expecting his body to react to his thoughts in the usual, violent way. But nothing happened. No pounding heart, no blurred vision. Either Tony didn’t know himself as well as he thought, or his mentality had changed. Did Tony Stark have a new approach to death? It seemed so. This time, there was no wormhole over Manhattan. There was a wormhole, sure, but this one would only lead him closer to his goal. This time he could stray from the fight and watch the stars without worrying about the journey home. Despite everything, Tony kind of liked that idea. It sounded peaceful, not to mention cool. Death by Infinity Stones.

Tony stepped out of his room still feeling surprisingly calm. Talking to Pepper had certainly resulted in feelings being felt, and thoughts of family, death, and the ultimate sacrifice had only heightened those feelings. Yet Tony felt he was in control. He was able to be aware of his emotions without letting them overwhelm him. For the time being. He considered it a win.

Tony strolled along the corridor, his mind still on Pepper. In the hallway leading to Shuri’s lab, Tony was ambushed quite suddenly by Ganem, who spoke with the urgency of someone with the mindset that lizard people were trying to take over the world.

“In one minute I will reveal the truth!”

Tony continued to walk. Ganem trailed behind him.

“Okay, buddy. Go right ahead. Do your thing, reveal the truth.”

“I will reveal many of your secrets, but I want you to know it’s for your own good.”

“That’s fine, really, I can handle a few nudes getting leaked.”

“I have so much more than nude images. I know all about your connection to the Illuminati and your involvement in—”

“Wait, so you actually have naked pictures of me? May I point out how highly disturbing that is?”

Ganem spoke so fast he stumbled on his words several times. “I need to use these kinds of images as evidence to lend credibility to the story so that people can truly understand the danger—”

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all in danger, but you know what? Don’t worry about that anymore.” Tony slung an arm around Ganem’s shoulder. “We’re gonna fix everything. Me and my team. We’re gonna kill all the aliens and the lizards. You can reveal your truth thing, if you want. But you don’t have to save anyone. Leave that to us.”

Ganem, for once, was quiet, and stared at Tony in awe, wide-eyed with gratefulness toward his newfound savior.

“Mr Stark! I am so glad to hear that. And I—I’m honored to know that I have had such an impact, I mean, that I’ve managed to convince you of the state of danger our world is in,” Ganem said, gushing and stuttering, all in a rush.

“What can I say? You did good. You really did help us.” And with that, Tony patted his newly self-appointed biggest fan on the back and strode away, into the lab. Thankfully, a guard stopped Ganem from following Tony inside.

The lab was empty aside from Shuri, who was hunched over a screen and typing quickly; a holographic image of a mask floated above her nimble hands. Shuri had designed oxygen masks for everyone on the team except Tony and Rhodey, whose suits contained oxygen tanks, Nebula, who didn’t need oxygen to survive, and Rocket, who had a breathing device of his own. Tony was about to walk up to her but stopped short when he saw a table filled with everything he needed for the arc reactor. The components lay in straight rows: screws and wires and a metal case in the exact size necessary to create an electromagnet of the right voltage to power the Infinity Stones. Tony was dumbfounded. He had imagined spending hours hammering and smelting and sweating to create his signature piece of revolutionary technology. Not on Shuri’s watch. A delighted smirk in Tony’s direction confirmed that Shuri could have built the arc reactor herself. Easily. Giving Tony a bunch of parts to assemble like Legos was just her idea of fun.

Tony smiled as he attached the parts with smooth, methodical movements. He took his time. Building the reactor was soothing in its familiarity.

As he worked, he looked up occasionally to keep track of the people who were once again filling the lab. A few tables away, Natasha could be seen trying out the Vibranium Gauntlets while Bruce and Rhodey looked on in alarm. On the other side of the lab, Rocket strolled along, eyeing several objects with interest. Tony doubted he would manage to steal anything without Shuri noticing, but he decided to keep an eye on the raccoon nevertheless. Foster and Santiago hovered around the more complex inventions, with Foster casting several furtive looks at Thor, who was speaking with Wong and, surprisingly, Rosenberg.

Tony had failed to introduce himself to Rosenberg, who seemed to be getting along fine with everyone. She had a very serious, concerned air, and had caught on quickly with the whole Infinity-business. Rosenberg caught Tony’s eye, ended her conversation and quickly made her way over.

“Hello,” she said quietly, now standing before Tony.

“Hi,” Tony replied. When Rosenberg didn’t speak for a while, he continued, “So, what do you think?”

Rosenberg was startled by the question. “Of what?”

“Of this.” Tony waved the screwdriver he was holding, gesturing to the room as a whole. “Of the whole superhero-space war thing.”

“Oh. It’s, um, interesting. I’ve learned a lot.” Rosenberg chewed on her thumbnail. “I actually wanted to ask you a question.”

“Shoot.”

“It’s kind of personal.”

Tony set down his tools and looked at Rosenberg. “Okay.”

“I was wondering why you volunteered to wield the Infinity gauntlet.”

“Because it’s my responsibility. Because millions of people have died on my watch and I have to get them back.”

“Are you afraid of failing?”

“That’s a second question.”

“Would you please answer it? It’s very important.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not a reporter, are you?”

Rosenberg shook her head. “I’m a receptionist at an insurance company.”

“Right.” Tony ran a hand through his hair. “Then I guess there’s no harm in telling you that I’m terrified of failure. That the image of getting the people around me killed while I survive haunts me every single day and that—” Tony let out a harsh breath, “—that I would rather die than live knowing I wasn’t able to save them.”

Rosenberg was visibly shaken. “Thank you for your honesty,” she said lamely.

“Did you need anything else?”

“No. But if you see Steve could you tell him that I’m looking for him?”

“Sure.” Tony returned to building his reactor.

Rosenberg began walking away, but tentatively turned around after a few steps. “I might be overstepping here, but I’d recommend seeing a therapist about the, um, ‘haunting image’.”

Tony let out a chuckle. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll be looking into that.”

Apparently pleased with his answer, Rosenberg walked away. Tony wondered what she was up to, why she was speaking to Thor and Wong of all people, and why she was asking such important, intimate questions; but he didn’t wonder too hard.

Minutes later, Tony had finished building the arc reactor. The device was much larger than he was used to, nearly as large as his head, and much heavier as well. He weighed the reactor in his hands and could almost imagine the power it held. The power to stop Thanos. The power to restore humanity. He set it down on the table.

Tony made his way through the crowded lab, taking a detour around Natasha who was still trying out various weapons. In avoiding Natasha, Tony ended up bumping into the person he was trying hardest to avoid.

“Tony,” Steve said with an absolutely straight face.

“Rogers.” Tony didn’t quite meet Steve’s eye. “On your way out, I hope.”

“Actually, Tony, I wanted to talk to you. I hope that’s allowed.” Steve crossed his arms.

“Business-related?”

“Sort of.”

Tony scanned Steve’s face and found he was serious. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure if you knew this, but there’s been some talk about reinstating S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“Talk?” Tony scoffed. “There’s a whole secret facility.”

Steve cocked his head in surprise. “I didn’t know that,” he continued. “I just wanted to know if it was something you were interested in.”

“You want to know if I wanna work for S.H.I.E.L.D. again,” Tony stated, his voice deadpan.

“Yeah.” Steve nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

Tony almost laughed. “I don’t believe this.”

“Well I think it makes a lot of sense. We could work around the Accords, using S.H.I.E.L.D. as a mediator, keep our independence—”

“I’m just gonna stop you right there. The whole independence thing, that’s your issue. I’m not the one who’s an international fugitive.”

“I know you’re not. You’re Iron Man—”

“Damn right I am.”

“—and the people need you. They’re always gonna need you.”

“If you ask me there’s already enough superheroes screwing things up.”

“Well if you ask me there’s not nearly enough superheroes. And none of them are as good as you.”

Tony looked up at Steve, trying his hardest to figure him out. “Forget it,” he said. “Okay? I’m done. After this I’m done.”

“What are you going to do?”

“If I survive this, I’m gonna be a dad. A freaking good one, too.”

“So when you have a kid you’re just gonna stop being Iron Man?” When Tony didn’t answer, Steve continued, more quietly, “Didn’t think so.”

Tony relaxed his shoulders slightly, sinking into himself. “What are you gonna do?”

Steve shook his head. “I don’t know. I want to make the world a better place but I don’t know how. I think not running from the law might be a start, though. And I think S.H.I.E.L.D. might be the right way to go.”

Tony was quiet for a moment. Steve matched his relaxed stance, unfolding his arms and instead letting them hang limply by his sides. “You know,” Tony said, his voice breezy. “It’s a shame you and I aren’t better friends. We could have made a great team.” He began to walk away, leaving Steve a little dazed. “Maybe in a different lifetime.”

“Does that mean you’ll think about it? About joining S.H.I.E.L.D.? I know you’re done saving the world, but I also know you’re not done helping people.”

Tony raised his eyebrows. “What’s the difference?”

“One doesn’t involve self-sacrifice.”

Tony looked down, then back to Steve. “Fine. I’ll think about it.” 

Then Tony walked away. He found Shuri standing by a table filled with dozens of breathing masks.

”Whoa,” Tony said. He even took a step back for dramatic effect. “When did you make all these? ‘Cause a minute ago you didn’t have a single breathing mask.”

“I used some extremely advanced and complex Wakandan technology.”

“Like what? Like an advanced industrial-grade robot?”

“Like a 3D-printer.” Shuri grinned.

Tony smiled and picked up one of the masks. “How many of these do you have?” he asked.

“These are for your friends,” Shuri said, gesturing to the table. Then she pointed to several boxes on the floor, filled to the brim with masks. “These are for our army. About 400 in all.”

“They any good?”

“They are capable of supplying oxygen to living organisms, so yes, I would say they are good.”

“Looks like your job is done then.” Tony set the mask back down.

“Yes. Have you finished your task? I hope I didn’t make things too difficult for you.” Shuri’s   
eyes had a mischievous sparkle.

Tony laughed. “I hope you’re not this much of a little shit when you’re running the international tech market.”

“Don’t count on it.”

Rhodey had appeared next to Tony. “Queen Shuri? I thought I should mention the raccoon’s playing in your sandbox.”

Shuri sighed heavily in response and walked over to Rocket, who was toying with the controls of a holographic spacecraft while sitting in a sandbox. “Woohoo!” he shouted gleefully.

Shuri grabbed a control from a nearby table and pressed a few buttons. The spaceship disappeared abruptly, and the mound of sand Rocket had been sitting on fell away. As soon as he had hit the ground the raccoon began to curse. “What the hell’d you do that for? I was just trying out your spaceship. It’s a crappy ship, by the way. Doesn’t even have a jump system. Way worse than the Benatar.”

Shuri finished typing something in the control and turned to Rocket. “There. Now I’ve updated our security measures so that you can’t activate our spaceships so easily.”

“Relax, it’s not like I took off in it.” Rocket only shrugged when he saw Shuri frowning. “All I’m saying is if you really don’t want people flying those things you shouldn’t make them so easily accessible.”

“We’ve never had issues with people trying to steal spaceships before.”

“Steal-schmeal. I’ve never stolen anything in my life.”

Nebula, who had been watching the altercation from the back of the room, stepped in to intercept Rocket as he walked toward the exit. She grabbed the raccoon around the middle and lifted him up with one arm, while pulling a handful of Kimoyo Beads and other small items from his pocket. “Hey, watch it!” Rocket protested. When Nebula let go of him he fell to the floor. Rocket stood up, brushed off his vest and grimaced, baring his sharp teeth. “That stuff could’ve gone for thousands of units on the black market.”

“Too bad you’re not a thief,” Bruce said.

Rocket spun around to face the crowd that had gathered around him. “Oh I see how it is. You guys are ganging up on me.”

“No we’re not.” Steve stepped forward. “We just don’t care for your criminal behavior.”

Rocket stalked off, muttering to himself all the while. Despite his hostile demeanor, he stayed in the lab, sulking a few feet away from the group.

As the various cliques continued their quiet conversations, Rhodey turned back to Tony. “You know,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest, “it’s too bad most of these people haven’t had any actual military training. The fighting isn’t good for morale, and unmotivated soldiers end up losing wars.”

“You’re probably right, Rhodes.”

“Hell yeah, I’m right. I just don’t know what to do about it.”

“What do you do in the air force?”

“Major Dudley always used to give speeches before missions about how important the mission was and what would happen if we messed up. But I think everyone here knows the stakes. There’s no need to cause more anxiety.”

“So we do the opposite. Remind everyone to get along and stick to their positions, forget about the big picture.”

“Actually that’s not bad.”

“Good,” Tony muttered, and then, shouting to address the whole room, “Hey, everyone! Rhodey here has something he would like to share.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes at Tony, who grinned and stepped aside.

“Listen up, people,” Rhodey said. “Big day tomorrow. We’re going to space, to fight a Titan who wields all six Infinity Stones. I hope you’re ready. But more importantly, you’re going to need to focus. When we’re out there, fighting Thanos’ army on an alien planet, the most important thing is for us to remember what we’re fighting for, whatever that may be: peace, justice, revenge. Remind yourselves why you’re doing this, and focus on that.” Tony watched the rest of the room watch Rhodey; most were nodding or smiling or at least listening intently. “Oh, and one more thing,” Rhodey continued. “We’re a team, right? And when we beat Thanos’ ass we’ll do it as a team. No matter who we’re standing with today, tomorrow we’ll all be fighting alongside each other.”

Tony clapped his hands loudly and whooped. “Go team!”

The look Rhodey gave Tony was a mixture of annoyance and amusement. “Yeah,” he said. “Go team.”

Rogers cleared his throat. “On three,” he announced. “One. Two. Three. Go team!”

To Tony’s surprise, the entire group joined in.

“Go team!”


	7. Chapter 7

Steve and Natasha stood by the entrance to the Wakandan spacecraft. Together with a group of Wakandan soldiers holding weapons and clad in armor they formed a half-circle around the ship. His team and the Wakandan army had been divided into groups, one for each spaceship. Steve and M’Baku, the leader of the Jabari Tribe, were the commanders of this group, although Steve found the idea of strategizing in this particular war rather unnecessary. No matter how much they prepared, going through potential scenarios and changing fighting techniques to incorporate the slightly lower gravity, there really was no way to anticipate how Thanos would act. If they weren’t fast enough, it would all be over in a second. The thirty minute time limit was daunting enough, throw in a being with the power to obliterate half the universe and their mission seemed almost impossible. All they had was the element of surprise, but considering the fact that the Time Stone might alert Thanos of their presence, maybe not even that.

Okoye was currently handing out the breathing masks Shuri had designed. When she got to Steve’s group, she proffered a mask to everyone except Steve, to whom she said, “The queen will deliver your mask personally.” Moments later, Shuri walked up to Steve holding what appeared to be his old helmet.

“Is this…” Steve began.

“It’s not exactly the same.” Shuri said.

She was right: the blue color and the shape were the same, but unlike the original helmet, this one also covered the nose. Steve gave a twitch of a smile.

“I had fun with it” was Shuri’s only explanation.

Then Shuri ordered everyone to board their ships. Steve’s group formed a line with him at the rear. He watched Nebula, with her sharpened dagger, and Tony, with the large arc reactor strapped to the back of his armor, step inside the Guardians’ ship. Bruce and Rhodey, also wearing armor, and Thor, clutching his axe, boarded another ship. Natasha had already disappeared inside his own ship and Steve was about to follow her when Amanda came sprinting toward him.

She was out of breath, clutching a stitch in her side.

“Steve,” she panted. “I’ve been looking for you.”

“I thought you went home,” Steve said. “Why did you stay?”

“I need to tell you something important.”

“It better be quick,” Shuri commented.

“I just need a minute,” Amanda said.

Steve could discern a certain crisp determination in the tone of her voice. He gave Shuri a curt nod. She pursed her lips and headed toward one of the other ships.

“I know what you’re trying to do, and I need you to know that it won’t work.”

Steve was stumped. “What do you mean?”

“I only met you a few days ago, and I know this will sound crazy, but I think I understand you.” When Steve didn’t respond, she continued. “I know you plan on using the gauntlet before Stark.”

Steve realized the worthlessness in trying to argue. “How?” he asked instead.

“I have great intuition. And I’ve been trying my best to figure out this infinity business. I’ve learned a lot about the Stones, how they choose who is worthy of the gauntlet. And, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re not.”

Steve remained silent.

“Thor and Wong told me that when you’re holding the gauntlet, the Stones read you. They sense your ambitions and your fears. Now let me ask you this: Are you afraid of failing?”

“Yes,” Steve replied instantly. “I’m scared of losing this battle. If we lose we’ll never get another chance to make things right. To bring them back.”

“And you’re not afraid of dying for this cause.”

“No. If it’s between my life and the lives of trillions of others, then I’ll do what I have to do.”

Amanda let out a deep breath. “Tony Stark isn’t afraid to die either. But he will also refuse to live unless he achieves his goal. The Stones will pick up on that. Wielding the gauntlet won’t kill him because his fear of survival is greater than his fear of death. He will succeed where you would fail.”

Steve nodded slowly. Amanda’s words surprised him, and yet everything she said made perfect sense. Part of him knew she was right. “Are you absolutely sure of that?”

“I’m sure. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“And do you trust Stark?”

“Yes.”

“Then it’s simple. Don’t try to use the gauntlet.”

“I won’t.”

“Good.” Amanda’s expression changed; she looked more tired, but also more lively. Her pale cheeks took on a pinker shade. “I think my work here is done.”

“Maybe I’ll see you around. A skill like yours could be useful in the superhero business.”

“I’m already in the superhero business, remember? And I should hope to see you soon. You’re in dire need of life insurance.”

Steve smiled in spite of the rather grim circumstance. He stepped onto the spaceship, whose door sealed automatically behind him. Inside, rows of soldiers were strapped into their seats. Steve sat down next to Natasha, donned his helmet and spoke into the comm on his shoulder. “Is everyone ready?”

“Ready,” Tony said.

“Ready,” Shuri said.

“Ready,” Thor said.

“Alright Thor,” Steve announced. “Take us to Thanos.”

 

Outside the ship hundreds of colors flashed by in what Steve thought of as a beams of light. The ship spun around slowly. Steve was grateful for the seatbelt keeping him in place. Without it, he would have surely drifted weightlessly around the ship. When the journey through the wormhole suddenly ended, Steve found himself staring at a gigantic planet. Grooves on its surface suggested a mountainous terrain. The surface itself was a color that could only be described as bright purple.

The comm crackled. “We are now orbiting the planet Barmesh,” Shuri announced.

“Roger that,” Tony said. “Have you located Thanos?”

“Yes. The source of the Stones’ radiation is 500 miles northwest.”

“Let’s move,” Steve said.

Shuri announced the exact coordinates, and the Wakandan astronaut piloting the ship set the course for Thanos. The rest of the ships followed Shuri’s, flying in formation above the purple planet. As they neared the settlement, Tony’s ship accelerated.

“I’m ten miles away,” Tony said.

Seconds later, Tony spoke again. “Exiting the ship.”

Against the purple backdrop Steve saw Iron Man flying at high speed toward a group of buildings. Far away Steve could make out the planet’s curved horizon. A faint light glowed here, tiny rays stretching upward. The planet’s edge was becoming illuminated by its sun, which had not yet risen.

Steve turned to Natasha, M’Baku and the soldiers, who watched the scene outside with grim expressions.

As the sun traveled across the sky at a fast pace, the border between the ground cast in sunlight and the rest of the planet’s still dark surface edged forward. Soon the sunbeams had arrived at Thanos’ settlement, giving shadows to the large structures. The Iron Man armor glistened. Everyone watched as Tony flew closer and closer to the spot Shuri had declared the source of the radiation.

“What’s he doing?” Natasha said.

“He’s not dropping the reactor,” Steve replied.

“Hey, Tony,” Rhodey’s voice said into the comms. “I thought we agreed you’d drop it.”

“Too slow. It would take two minutes for the planet’s gravitational force to pull the reactor down. In that time our buddy Thanos could decide to kill us instead of waiting for us to kill him. It’s too big a risk.”

“Well now there’s the risk of Thanos catching you.”

“I’m—” Tony was cut off by a loud crackling.

“The radiation’s interfering with the radio waves. He must be less than 15 meters from the gauntlet,” Shuri said hurriedly.

“Put on your oxygen masks,” Steve said. “We’re going in.”

Steve, Natasha and the soldiers scrambled to attach their breathing masks. Natasha snickered when she saw Steve’s helmet. As the ship began to descend, movement could be seen below, near the buildings. Thousands of black dots which Steve assumed to be Thanos’ army dispersed, covering a large area in a loose formation.

Suddenly the ship lurched forward, the tail lifting up and sending everyone to edge of their seats.

“What was that?” Steve asked, sliding back into position.

“Some kind of missile. I can’t figure out where it’s coming from though,” the pilot answered.

She had barely finished speaking before swerving sharply to the left, narrowly avoiding another missile. Only seconds later another blast sent a jolt through the ship.

The pilot furrowed her brow. “The ship isn’t built for warfare,” she said to Steve. “It can’t take much more fire.”

“Take us as low as you can, as slow as you can, and we’ll jump. Thanks to the low gravity here we won’t get killed on impact,” Natasha said. She was no longer strapped into her seat, but making her way toward the rear of the ship, a large empty space where the floor consisted of several intricate, unevenly shaped, interconnected panels.

“You think we should go through the cargo drop,” Steve said. He unbuckled his seatbelt and followed Natasha.

“It’s the safest way,” M’Baku said. “If we take the time to land properly, Thanos army could surround us.”

“Let’s do it,” Steve agreed.

M’Baku spoke to the pilot in Xhosa, then addressed his tribe. The fighters left their seats and lined up in the cargo space. At M’Baku’s command the pilot pressed a button, raising a metal partition between the storage area and the rest of the ship.

Steve, Natasha and the Jabari Tribe soon found themselves in an enclosed space without windows. The only indication that the ship was moving at all was the noise of the engines and the shaking floor.

“We’re dropping in on the southern formation,” Steve said into the comm.

“Hulk jump too,” was the only response he received.

Steve caught Natasha’s eye. “That’s a good sign, right?” he said.

“I think it is.”

“I’m getting close. 1000 yards,” the pilot said over the speakers.

The Jabari Tribe began to chant, slapping their chests and emitting load grunts. Steve was strangely entranced by their sense of connection and unity.

“500 yards.”

The ship lurched abruptly forward. Steve slid toward the partition wall. The rows of Jabari soldiers clasped each others’ arms, forming a chain. The ends of each row held on tightly to the walls. The formation was never broken, and the chanting never faltered.

“100 yards.”

The floor panels in front of Steve began to fold away. In a matter of seconds the floor beneath him had disappeared, replaced by the purple earth of the strange planet and the black creatures awaiting his arrival with open arms and sharp claws. He traveled diagonally, falling slowly toward Thanos’ army. Behind him, or rather, above him, Natasha, M’Baku and the Jabari were falling, too. Just before he hit the ground he realized they would land farther away, in an open stretch of dusty earth. Steve, on the other hand, was about to land in the thick of it. He bent his legs out and braced himself for the impact—only to have his landing cushioned by one of the alien creatures. The creature screeched; its bones cracked beneath Steve’s feet. He landed in a crouch atop the creature’s back.

As soon as Steve had hit the ground the alien soldiers began to attack him. Steve kicked at one of the creatures advancing on him and struck another across the nose with his left shield. The aliens were knocked backward several feet but a dozen more had already filled their place. Using the shields attached to his arms, Steve swung at the aliens. Every way he turned he saw the same gaping mouths and the same sharp sets of teeth. The stream of beasts was relentless, their bloodlust inexhaustible. Although the creatures he managed to knock down never got up, the amount of casualties inflicted didn’t seem to matter: the creatures only leapt over the motionless bodies and crawled closer toward Steve.

“Time’s running out,” Shuri announced suddenly into the comm.

Steve could only see the group of space dogs closing in around him. He fought off two beasts while several more advanced. One of the dogs pounced at him from the left, reaching to grab Steve and bite his head off. Steve ducked under one of its arms. Another creature dragged its claws over Steve’s back, from his left shoulder blade to his right hip bone. Steve gasped. The claws had punctured his suit and scraped his skin. Steve let out his breaths through clenched teeth. He struck the beats closest to him. More creatures arrived. He struck again and again.

One of the creatures leaped forward and barreled into Steve, who was knocked promptly on his back. The creature loomed over him, unaffected by Steve’s punches and kicks. The dog’s head shot forward. Steve felt one of its teeth prick his chin. The creature’s jaw was closing—but never bit down. The beast was still for a second, then rose into the air, its legs hanging limp and its mouth still agape. The Jabari who had pierced the creature with his spear gave Steve a curt nod before setting down the beast and stabbing another. Natasha appeared before Steve and offered her hand. Steve took it, letting Natasha pull him to his feet. The Jabari tribe swarmed around him, pushing the aliens back and filling the battlefield with their chants.

Now that a wall of space dogs no longer obscured Steve’s vision, he was able to see bouts of lightning in the distance. Even farther away, the Hulk lumbered around the battlefield, smashing aliens left and right.

Steve fought alongside Natasha, who alternated between striking the dogs with a staff and electrocuting them with her Widow’s Bite, and M’Baku, who used his spear more effectively than anyone Steve had ever seen.

The group worked their way through the army of space dogs, inching ever closer to Thanos. In the back of his mind Steve wondered how Tony was holding up, surrounded by alien soldiers and face to face with the Titan himself. Steve knew he was needed; he knew time was running out and he desperately wanted to reach Thanos before it was too late. His desperation only fuelled his rage, his fervor. Steve shifted his stance, inhaled and exhaled. He could feel the weight behind each blow, the force in each step. When another creature fell to the ground, his momentum carried him forward.

Steve raised one arm to strike another creature when the alien suddenly turned around. The entire horde of alien creatures turned away from their attackers and ran.

“Look out!” shouted M’Baku.

Steve turned to see a stampede of space dogs advancing quickly, running in the same direction as their friends. Several Jabari were instantly lost in the swarm of long, leathery limbs. Steve knelt down and raised his shields to cover his face and body. A creature leapt onto the shields. For a second the creature pressed its full weight onto Steve, threatening to crush him, before bounding away.

From his right side, Natasha let out a cry. A space dog had trampled her. Its claws had left long, deep cuts across her back. Steve hurried toward her while she tried cover a wound stretching from her shoulder to her collarbone. He crouched down beside her, holding his shields just above their heads.

Once the last creature had passed over them, Steve let his arms fall. Natasha lay doubled over, with her hands pressed to the wound on her shoulder. On her back three claw marks glared bright red. Steve held his arms around his friend.

Natasha lifted her face. Her yellow hair and white skin were flecked with red. She was not covering the wound on her shoulder. Her hands were cradling her chin, pressed over the spot on her neck where blood was seeping much too quickly.

With one hand still on her neck, Natasha lifted the breathing mask off her face.

“Nat, you can’t take that off!” Steve exclaimed. “You’ll die.”

Natasha leaned in close and said in a quiet voice, “Go.”

“What?”

“Go, Steve. You need to get to Thanos. Tony’s going to fix this, but you need to help him first.”

When Steve still didn’t move, Natasha repeated, more urgently, “Go.”

Steve stood up and staggered off in the direction of Thanos’ army. He knew Natasha was right, that Tony would reverse her death if Steve and the rest of the team could only reach him. And yet leaving his friend, walking away from her as she bled, spoke against Steve’s very intuition. Tears blurred his vision: he could barely distinguish the purple earth from the rosy sky—and there, far in the distance, a cluster of black shapes.

Steve headed for the cluster, ignoring the hot tears rolling down the corners of his eyes and the vise pressing on his heart. He ran. He didn’t look back.

When he reached the group of alien soldiers, Steve struggled through the mass of leathery bodies, beating the creatures, who snarled and clawed at him, with his shields. Steve pushed a large, six-legged creature out of the way and was surprised to find himself in a clearing. He had reached the center of the alien army, the heart of the battle. Before him stood Thanos, tall and grinning. On his left hand the golden gauntlet shimmered in the sunlight.

“Ah, Captain Rogers. I can’t say I’m surprised to see you here. The last time we met you were very ambitious in your efforts to stop me from saving the universe from itself.”

“If I remember correctly we were pretty successful until you turned back time.”

“You failed to recognize the extent of my powers. You were naive, unprepared and disorganized. I wouldn’t call that successful.”

“We shaped up,” Tony said. “And now we’re here to beat your ass.”

Thanos laughed: a low, grumbing sound. “You have heart, Stark, I’ll give you that. But you’re foolish. If you had understood that my actions were all for the greater good and moved on instead of challenging me again, you would have lived.”

“If you thought we’d accept half the universe dying and just move on, you’re dead wrong,” Steve said.

“My mistake.” Thanos smile disappeared. He looked down at the gauntlet as he flexed his gloved fingers. “I’ve enjoyed our little conversation. I’m starting to see why humans are the only people stupid enough to challenge me twice. You don’t know what’s best for you.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, asshole. If there’s one thing us humans know it’s how to find problems and fix them. Can’t say the same for you. All you’ve done is ruin lives and cause problems.”

“So you’ve said, repeatedly. I know you’re stalling. You’ve been stalling since you got here. You both know you can’t kill me. And now you’re waiting for me to kill you and all your friends. It’s pathetic.”

Steve heard human shouts and alien screeches behind him. Soon M’Baku and several Jabari emerged from the alien army. Queen Shuri and the rest of the Wakandan soldiers arrived shortly after. The alien creatures moved to make room for the newcomers.

When Thor arrived with a clap of thunder, closely followed by Hulk, Thanos turned to Tony with a grim expression. “It looks like all your friends are here now. It’s a shame you chose to die when you could have lived.”

The Wakandans and Avengers watched motionlessly as Thanos raised the gauntlet and slowly closed his fist. Seconds passed. Steve let out a breath. Thanos only stared at the Stones, shocked by their betrayal. The Stones continued to glow softly as before, but they would not shine for him.

“What have you done?” Thanos growled.

Tony began fumbling with the straps fastening the arc reactor to his back. He let the reactor drop to the ground and stepped aside. Thanos gazed at it in bewilderment.

“Last time we might have underestimated you,” Steve said. “But today it looks like you’ve underestimated us.”

From above their heads came the noise of thrusters accelerating, followed by a loud “Whoo!” Rhodey flew toward them at high speed, holding Nebula against his chest. Rocket hung on to his ankle, shouting gleefully. Once the trio had reached Thanos, Rocket let go. He landed on Thanos’ head, scratching his face with one hand while pointing his gun at Thanos with the other. Thanos grabbed Rocket by the tail and tossed him away. Rocket soared ungracefully through the air before Thor reached up and caught the raccoon with one hand.

Nebula landed a few feet from Thanos, and Rhodey behind her.

Thanos frowned and squared his shoulders. “Nebula. My daughter. You never did understand my methods, even when you were my loyal servant. And now you’ve returned to kill your father in cold blood. How disap—”

Nebula lunged forward with a shout, jumping into the air and landing with her dagger sunk deeply into Thanos’ forehead. She pulled back, used her legs to push away from Thanos, and dropped to the ground, leaving the dagger in Thanos’ skull. The Titan blinked once, eyeing Nebula dumbly with his mouth slightly agape, before falling to the ground.

“I always hated your speeches,” Nebula said, and wiped her brow with her thumb.

The arc reactor lying on the ground flickered and grew dark, its energy depleted. The space dogs began to move, dissolving the tight, circular formation. The ragtag team was left standing on the sunlit earth, waiting for the next step, for Tony Stark to complete their mission. Only Tony Stark wasn’t the first to make a move.

Steve walked up to Thanos’ lifeless body. He knelt down, reached for the gauntlet, and pulled it gently off Thanos’ arm. The gauntlet was much lighter than expected, its surface cool and smooth. Steve walked up to Tony and offered him the gauntlet; Tony took it. He retracted the nanotech armor covering his left hand. When he slipped it on his arm, the gauntlet shrank to fit him better. Tony lifted it up, inspecting it from all angles. The cracked surface became more apparent up close. Rhodey stepped to Tony’s side.

“You really gonna go through with this?”

“You trying to talk me out of it?”

“Definitely not.” Rhodey placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “Good luck,” he said.

Tony raised the gauntlet with a steady hand. Despite being the most powerful being in the universe, Steve couldn’t help but picture the frail and vulnerable man inside the armor.

Tony directed his gaze upward, toward the sky where moons and planets hung low, bathed in the fiery light of their sun. He closed his fist. The six Stones gleamed. The beams of bright white light radiating from the Stones seemed to stretch toward Tony’s chest. As he was enveloped by the light, Tony staggered forward. He dropped to his knees, struggling a while to stay upright before finally collapsing. There he lay, hunched over the ground with his right hand grasping at the crumbling earth, until the light consuming him died down. Then Tony slumped onto his side. He lay perfectly still, his face in the dirt and his hands no longer grasping at anything.


	8. Chapter 8

_Bring them back,_ Tony thought. _Make everything right again._ After that, things happened way too fast. The Stones began to glow. Tony felt himself growing weaker, all of his energy seemed to drain from his fingertips. His knees buckled under his weight, no longer able to keep him on his feet. Tony tried to fight back with every ounce of his strength, but that strength was quickly depleting. He fell forward.

“No,” he said through gritted teeth. “No, no, no. Don’t you dare kill me until I’ve fixed this. It’s—” he paused to take a shaky breath, “—not over.”

He tried to picture Strange and the Guardians, and everyone else—even that genocidal maniac Loki. _Bring them back. Bring them home._

Suddenly he saw Pepper, sitting behind her desk at Stark HQ. She was making a phone call and seemed agitated. Then she caught Tony’s eye and smiled at him, curling her lips ever so slightly. The smile lasted just a second but Tony played it again and again and again.

Then Tony saw Peter. He had been trying not to think about Peter. He thought it might break him. Scramble his brain and make him so weak he could no longer withstand the Stones. But there he was. The kid. Grinning from ear to ear, his hair tousled from wearing the Spider-Man mask. Peter was moving his lips, but Tony couldn’t make out any words. “I can’t hear you! Speak up!” Tony tried to shout. He wheezed and coughed and clutched the dry earth more firmly.

Several blurry images replaced Peter: Rhodey, the Avengers, his armor. Then there was Steve, wearing the suit Tony had designed, giving a careful half-smile. Then back to Pepper, to Peter. He could feel them all so clearly, even if their faces were clouded and fleeting. By now his body had succumbed to the Stones. His lungs drew in air, but not for his sake. His heart lent its beats to a different power.

“Not yet,” Tony whispered. He tried to steady himself. He cradled the gauntlet against his chest. He continued to breathe.

That was before everything went dark. In the moments before, Tony continued to struggle, despite his numbing limbs and spotty vision. His mind went last. He continued to watch the pretty pictures in his head until his energy was all gone and his brain finally gave.

 

★★★

 

Tony woke to blinding white light and a roaring buzz. After a few seconds he realized the light was a regular ceiling lamp and the buzz was the sound of people bustling about just outside his room. The room itself was white, clean and impersonal. His bed was hard but comfortable. To his left was a window, through which a beam of light stretched over the floor to the door opposite, and in an armchair, sleeping, was Pepper. Tony watched her for a while. Eventually she began to stir. Pepper blinked and opened her eyes.

“Tony?”

“Good morning, Ms Potts.”

Pepper gasped and covered her mouth. “You’re alive.” She stood by Tony’s bedside and took his face in her hands. “How do you feel?”

“I’m good now that you’re with me.”

“I need to call a nurse.”

“No you don’t.” Tony sat up, pulled Pepper closer and kissed her softly. “I’m all better now.”

Pepper smiled down at Tony. Tony tried to take her hands, but found that his left hand was covered in bandages.

“I’m still getting a nurse,” Pepper said.

A middle-aged nurse came to check Tony’s condition. She observed his heart rate, his brain activity and his blood pressure with swift, sure movements. She couldn’t mask her surprise when she found he was perfectly healthy.

“Mr Stark, you’ve been unconscious for the past four days. Your body experienced tremendous strain before going into to what is called medical shock. A full recovery was not anticipated.”

“And then I just woke up, huh. What do you call that?”

“In medical terms, a miracle.”

The nurse left, leaving Tony and Pepper alone in the spacious hospital room.

“How did I get a room this nice anyway?”

“Well, you’ve donated a lot of money to this place.”

“Right. Of course I have.” Tony looked around, trying to gather his thoughts and make sense of everything. “I’m surprised I’m not in Wakanda.”

“You were, but they didn’t know how to help you so they transferred you here. Besides, they’ve been pretty busy with restoration work.”

“Restoration work?”

A smile spread across Pepper’s face. The window cast her in a light that made her tiny freckles visible. The light strands of hair framing her face appeared to glow.

“Tony, you did it. You saved everyone.”

“Do you want to know how?”

“Absolutely not.”

“But I got them back? Everyone?”

“Yes, everyone.”

“Even…”

“Yes.”

Tony let out a deep breath. Then the corner of his mouth turned up in a half-smile.

“That was pretty badass of me,” he said. “Saving the universe, I mean.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Definitely going on the list. It’s up there with driving a racecar and shooting my unibeam at a watermelon.”

“Oh, is this the list of extremely stupid things you do to get attention?”

“No, it’s the list of extremely cool things I do that other people also think are cool.”

Pepper grinned. She kneeled next to Tony’s bed and held Tony’s undamaged hand in both of hers.

“You know, I was at that party and I didn’t think it was cool.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re a party—”

“I was trying to save my company’s reputation—”

“Party-pooper. You’re a party-pooper,” Tony said. Pepper scoffed and rolled her eyes. “You’re also the love of my life.”

Pepper squeezed Tony’s hand a little tighter. Tony only continued to stare at her, totally enchanted by her smile, her eyes, the tilt of her head.

“What?” she said, still smiling.

“Let’s get married,” Tony said.

“Tony.” Her voice was gentle and quiet.

“Let’s get married, right now. Let’s not wait another second.”

Pepper gazed at Tony with the same tranquil expression.

“Okay,” she said.

Pepper lifted her chin and planted her lips on Tony’s. She grabbed his shoulders and kissed him. Tony unraveled. He felt his mind go blank and his muscles relax. His senses were all but overwhelmed by Pepper’s kiss, in the best of ways.

“Oh, um, sorry, I didn’t mean to, uh—”

Tony opened his eyes. Pepper ended their embrace. Before them stood Peter Parker, holding a hand over his eyes and muttering apologies as he fumbled for the doorknob.

“Hey kid,” Tony said as Pepper rose to her feet. “You can open your eyes now.”

“Are you…?”

“Yeah, don’t worry. Ms Potts and I like to keep it PG-13.”

Peter removed his hand from his face only to reveal his very flushed cheeks.

Pepper walked over to the kid and extended her hand.

“It’s very nice to meet you again, Mr Parker.”

Peter shook her hand awkwardly. Then Pepper excused herself—something about a conference call with Wakanda—and left the room. Peter moved slightly closer to Tony, his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweatshirt, his feet dragging on the floor. Immediately Tony realized there was something wrong. A kind of haunted look in his eye, a nervous flicker. The kid had never been good at hiding his emotions, although it was clear he was trying.

“Hi Mr Stark,” Peter said, trying for a smile.

“What happened? Is something wrong?”

“No! No way. I just came to see if you were okay.”

“I’m fine, I’ll be out of here in no time.”

“That’s good.” Peter didn’t quite meet Tony’s eye.

Tony swung his legs off the bed and made his way to Peter. “Kid,” he said, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder, “spare me the bullshit. Just tell me what’s bothering you.”

Peter’s eyes flickered back and forth between Tony and the floor. He took a deep breath. “I want to talk to you… about what happened.”

Tony nodded slowly. “Okay.” When Peter didn’t reply, Tony suggested they go for a walk.

“Uh, Mr Stark?”

“What’s up kid?” Tony replied while heading for the door.

“Don’t you want to change first? Maybe?”

Tony looked down and realized for the first time since waking up that he was wearing a hospital gown.

“Right. Good call. Why don’t you meet me at the café. I’ll be there in five.”

 

Peter looked slightly less rattled when Tony strode toward the hospital café wearing a crisp new suit and tinted sunglasses. They both remained silent on their way out the hospital. They crossed an empty street, entered a park and began to amble along a dirt path surrounded by tall birch trees. As they walked, the noise of traffic fell away. A gentle gust of wind picked up the smell of freshly cut grass.

Eventually Tony decided to break the silence. “What was it like?” he asked. “In the Soul Stone?”

“It was weird. Like… like when you wake up in the middle of the night and you’re not sure if you’re still dreaming. Kind of like that. I can’t really explain it a different way.”

“Were you alone?”

“No. Well, sort of. They were all there, but I couldn’t really see or talk to them. I just kind of felt like there were other people there.”

“Were you scared?”

“At first I was. I didn’t like it there. But then I realized I didn’t have to be scared, because I knew you were going to rescue me, Mr Stark.”

Tony stopped short. Peter cleared his throat.

“What I really wanted to say,” he continued, “is I’m sorry. I should have listened to you when you told me to go home. I know I let you down when we couldn’t get the gauntlet—”

“Stop.” Tony’s voice was harsh. “Just stop. Apology not accepted.”

“But Mr Stark—”

“Listen to me, Pete,” Tony said, breathing heavily. “You have nothing to apologize for. Got that?”

Peter stared at Tony, his brow furrowed and his face pale. He didn’t reply.

“Sure, you didn’t listen to me,” Tony continued. “You got on that spaceship when I told you not to. That was reckless. But it was also brave.” Tony paused. “I made you an Avenger for a reason. Because you’re always trying to do the right thing.”

Peter sniffed and wiped his eye with the back of his hand. “It’s just that,” he began, voice thick, “I tried so hard. And I—I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stop him. I wasn’t strong enough.” Peter’s voice finally gave, his last word cut off by a sob.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Tony muttered. He grabbed Peter’s shoulders firmly. “Don’t do that to yourself. You’re strong, okay? You can lift cars and buildings. Hell, you can probably bench Thor and that guy’s ripped.” Peter burst into a laugh, tears still streaming down his face. “Look,” Tony said, “point is, you didn’t fail. We all failed. None of us could stop Thanos the first time around.”

“It’s not that. It’s just...” Peter trailed off, looked away and then looked back at Tony. “I just thought I was ready. I thought I could help. But then, when we were fighting Thanos and everything was going wrong, I just thought ‘I can’t do this’. It made me realize,” Peter sniffed again, “maybe I’m just not cut out to be a superhero.”

To Peter’s surprise, Tony smiled. “That’s ridiculous. It’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said, and I’ve heard you yell ‘yeet’ a bunch of times, I mean what even is that?”

Peter let out a chuckle. “It’s a meme,” he said simply.

“Right. I have no idea what you’re talking about. Guess I’m getting old.” Tony’s smile disappeared. “You’re the best superhero I know,” he said earnestly.

“Even better than Thor?”

“Much much better.”

“No way.”

“Yes. You are. Don’t ever doubt it. You have what it takes to do the whole friendly neighborhood Spider-Man-gig. And when it comes to the big stuff, the space stuff, well, you’re an Avenger. We’ll figure it out as a team.”

“You really think it’ll work out?”

“The Avengers have to work out, otherwise something like the Snap is gonna happen again. We have to be prepared. And if we’re not, it’s probably Steve Roger’s fault. Not yours.”

Peter wiped his cheeks with his sleeve. His eyes were still red and puffy, but he was no longer crying.

“Take it from me, kid. Don’t dwell too much on the past. Guilt won’t get you anywhere.”

Peter nodded.

“Thanks Mr Stark.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “For what?”

“Just… for being there for me.”

Tony didn’t quite smile. He stepped forward and pulled Peter into an embrace. Peter laughed, sniffed, and put his arms around Tony. They stood there, hugging in the middle of the park, among the tall trees and flowering bushes, until they were interrupted by footsteps and a man’s voice. First, the crunching sound of tennis shoes on gravel, then: “Are you Tony Stark?”

“Uh-oh. We’ve got company,” Tony muttered. “Just stay still, I got this.”

Tony gently tapped Peter on the back twice before pulling away. He cleared his throat and turned to face the stranger. By the time he had moved away from Peter, the kid was covered fully in the Iron Man armor, which had quickly materialized around him at Tony’s touch.

“You’re right, it’s me,” Tony said to the stranger who was now holding up his phone to film the encounter. “Congratulations.”

“Holy shit, I am gonna get so many new followers.” The man grinned. As he stepped closer, he noticed the suit standing stoically behind Tony. “Woah,” the man said softly.

“I know, right? Pretty badass,” Tony said, pointing his thumb in the direction of the suit.

The man nodded, but after staring in awe at Tony and his suit for several seconds, it seemed to dawn on him that something wasn’t right. He gazed at Tony with a puzzled expression, his eyebrows all scrunched up and his glasses slightly askew. The strange man scratched his beard.

“So… There’s no one else here, is there?”

“Nope, just us. Don’t get any ideas, though, I’m in a very committed relationship, engaged actually.”

“Then who were you hugging just now?”

For a single millisecond, Tony looked stumped. However, he soon regained his suave demeanor. He walked up to the stranger and put an arm on the man’s shoulder.

“Look, I’m gonna be honest with you, but you have to promise not to tell anyone, alright? This stays between us, got it?”

The man pushed up his glasses and said, nodding vigorously, “I get it man. Don’t worry man. Your thing with the suit, it’s your business.”

“What? No.” Tony blinked slowly and took a deep breath. “What’s your name?”

“Mark.”

“Okay, Mark, how about this? You don’t post that video or tell anyone about our… encounter, and you’re invited to my wedding. Sound good?”

“Yeah, man, that’s awesome!”

“Great. It’s tomorrow. Kind of a black tie event, so you might wanna clean up a little, maybe shave the beard.”

“But I love my beard.”

“Yeah, well it’s not working for you. It’s,” Tony shook his head, “not good. Anyway, look nice, and remember: don’t tell anyone.”

“You can count on me, Tony Stark.” Mark winked. Tony frowned. “See you at your wedding.”

Once the man had left, Tony turned back to Peter. He tapped his chest to retract the suit from Peter, letting the nanobots return to their home over his heart. Peter lifted his hands, watching in awe as the bots dispersed in the air around him.

“Wow Mr Stark,” Peter said, once again standing before Tony in his jeans and sweatshirt. “That was really embarrassing for you.”

Tony smiled. “Yeah, he was a total weirdo.”

“And you just invited him to your wedding.”

“I had to protect your identity, didn’t I? Can’t let strangers see me hugging some intern or they’ll get suspicious.”

Peter smiled too. They had begun to stroll leisurely in the direction of the hospital. Peter shot Tony a look of hesitant anticipation that Tony had come to recognize as his just-about-to-ask-a-question face.

“Yes,” Tony said, “you’re invited to my wedding, and no, you can’t wear the spider suit, that would be tacky.”

Peter grinned. “Hey, is Captain America coming?”

“I suppose I’ll have to invite him now that I’ve invited a total stranger.”

“It’s just that I’m kinda scared to meet him. I did hit him pretty hard in Germany and I’m kinda worried he’ll hate me now.”

“Don’t worry about Steve, he’s fine. Besides, he doesn’t even know that was you.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

A few minutes went by during which Peter and Tony walked in silence. They watched as the afternoon sun gilded the leaves and the grass. A few pieces of gravel sparkled. The sun was setting, but Tony felt like he had all the time in the world.

As they reached the edge of the park, Peter cleared his throat. “Mr Stark, I actually have one last question.”

“Shoot.”

“Is… everything going to be okay? I mean really.”

Tony saw the cautious hopefulness in Peter’s eyes, the bubbling fear and tentative excitement.

“Yeah, kid. I think so. We were hit pretty hard, but I think we’ll all recover eventually.”

“And I get to help rebuild stuff, right? Now that I’m an Avenger.”

“That’s right, Pete. We’re gonna make things right again. And then we’re gonna make them better.”

“How do we do that?”

“I have some ideas. Some new tech, new relief foundation plans, new Earth defense strategies, some team building exercises. It’s a lot, but we’ll get there. I know we’re gonna get there.”


End file.
